. After the New Year, Ali, the great cannibal, also returned to Jiankang and brought news about Mongolia to Yang Yan.

This time, Ali went to Mongolia and gained a lot, not only met the great Khan Temujin of the Mongolian department, but also inquired about the origin of the feud between Mongolia and Jin, as well as the development process of Temujin from weak to strong, and told Yang Yan all of them. At the same time, he also brought back a simple topographic map of the grassland that he had drawn himself.

After listening to Ali's report, Yang Yan was also very happy, and the staff department also collected some news about Mongolia from other channels, although it was far less comprehensive than the information obtained by Ali, but it was enough to confirm that the news brought back by Ali was generally true and credible. This is not because he does not trust Ali, but because Ali is not a full-time spy of the Ministry of Justice, so the news he inquired about inevitably has personal subjective emotions and is one-sided, and must be verified from many aspects.

Knowing that the Mongolian tribe of the year was killed by the Jin people, and that the Jin State had implemented a three-year policy of reducing the Ding of the Mongols for a long time, Yang Yan also believed that there was indeed a possibility of forming an alliance between the Song and Mongolia to fight against the Jin State.

He listened to Ali's detailed account of Temujin's deeds, from the time when his family was ruined and fell halfway, until he accumulated strength step by step, maneuvered around the major forces of the steppe, gradually became stronger, and single-handedly reunited the divided Mongolian tribes into a powerful tribe, until now he is standing with Naiman and Kereh on the steppe. Yang Yan couldn't help but admire this alien who had never met before.

Subsequently, Yang Yan gathered several key personnel of the Ministry of Labor to discuss how to contact Mongolia.

On the one hand, because the Great Song Dynasty did not border Mongolia, and there were still Western Xia and Jin in between, and these two countries did not have a mutual trade relationship with the Great Song Dynasty, so it was very difficult to relay the news, and it was easy to leak the news, and on the other hand, the Great Song Dynasty was currently in the time of recovering its national strength, and if it was not forced to do so, I am afraid that there would not be any large-scale military operations in the next few years. And I don't know if the Mongolian Ministry itself has the intention and strength to form an alliance with the Great Song Dynasty, after all, now in the grassland, there are still three heroes, and it is not the Mongolian Department that has the final say.

And it is right to look for allies, but there are no eternal friends between countries. Former allies may become enemies in the blink of an eye. You have to keep yourself strong enough to be able to deal with all kinds of events.

However, everyone also believes that there is indeed a possibility of an alliance between the Great Song Dynasty and Mongolia. Moreover, once the alliance is successful, the chances of victory will be much greater if the Jin State is flanked from the north and the south, so although it is not appropriate to have official contact with Mongolia at present, it is also possible to maintain contact with Mongolia, to examine the strength of Mongolia, and to further test Mongolia's attitude.

Therefore, Lai Wenzheng also suggested that the Great Song Dynasty's contact with Mongolia was mainly through the channels of Western Xia, and it was better to take advantage of this opportunity to establish a business in Western Xia, on the one hand, it could facilitate the establishment of caravans and continue to maintain contact with Mongolia, and on the other hand, it was also possible to establish an intelligence network in Western Xia.

After nearly a year of hard work, the Department has initially established an intelligence-gathering network within the territory of the country. In several large cities of the country, there are intelligence bases established by the Ministry of Justice, and they are gradually installed in all walks of life in the country. All kinds of intelligence information were continuously sent to the Great Song Dynasty.

According to Yang Yan's plan, the next step should be to establish the same intelligence network in the Western Xia Kingdom. Because Western Xia was an ally of the Jin State, during the Jin Army's southern expedition, the Western Xia also sent troops to help the Jin State. The enemy's allies are naturally also the objects that should be guarded against, and although the enmity between the Great Song and the Jin Kingdom is as deep as the sea, the Western Xia also has the pain of gnashing their teeth, so it is also very necessary to take precautions and make full preparations first, and explore the news and intelligence in the Western Xia.

At the same time, Ali successfully formed a small caravan in Western Xia, which was a very good foundation, so it was a good opportunity to take the opportunity to develop and grow.

After everyone discussed and agreed, Yang Yan immediately entered the palace and told Zhao Chen the truth of the matter. But after Zhao Chen listened, he hesitated a little and said: "Although what my brother-in-law discussed is good, but didn't our Great Song Dynasty also ally with the Jin people to destroy Liao. However, after the destruction of Liao, the Jin people immediately reneged on the alliance and abandoned the covenant and invaded our Great Song Dynasty, so that the rivers and mountains fell, and the two emperors hunted in the north. Now that I'm allied with a foreign race, I'm afraid I'll repeat the same mistakes again. ”

Yang Yan listened to it and said with a smile: "The official family is too worried, the alliance against the enemy, a common thing since ancient times, among the nations, the six countries in the east have joined forces to attack Qin, so that the Qin people dare not go out of the Hangu Pass, if it is not for Zhang Yi to use a plan to break the alliance of the six countries, I am afraid that the Qin State will be destroyed early, how can the first emperor sweep away and unify the world." During the Three Kingdoms period of the Later Han Dynasty, Shu and Wu had joined forces against Cao, and there was a victory over Chibi, which began to form a three-legged trend. ”

Zhao Chen said: "Brother-in-law said this, I also know this, but during the years of the nations, the Three Kingdoms period of the Later Han Dynasty, it was the Han people themselves who were allied. And Jin and Mongolia are different races, not my race, and their hearts will be different. I have this heart. ”

Yang Yan said: "During the two Han Dynasty, Zhang Qian and Ban Chao envoys to the Western Regions united the countries of the Western Regions to fight against the Xiongnu. In the Tang Dynasty, the four prefectures of Anxi were set up, and the various ethnic groups in the Western Regions were united to control the Turks, which can be seen to ally with other races, chase jackals and tigers and leopards, and it is not all out of nothing, and the official family cannot be wasted because of choking. ”

Zhao Chen nodded when he heard this, and said, "Although my brother-in-law said that it is good, what if after our alliance defeats the Jin Kingdom, Mongolia will turn against us and the Great Song Dynasty?" ”

Yang Yan pointed to the map and said, "If my Great Song Dynasty repels the Jin army and recovers the lost territory, it will also border Mongolia, and it is unknown whether it will be an enemy or a friend at that time." Moreover, there was nothing wrong with the Great Song Dynasty's strategy of destroying Liao with Jin, but Emperor Huizong was immoral, and the six thieves were in charge, so that the national government and military discipline were relaxed, so that the Jin people had an opportunity. The loss of Tokyo and the southern crossing of the Great Song Dynasty were not the fault of the alliance. Therefore, it doesn't matter who you ally with, Guan Jian is whether my Great Song Dynasty itself is strong enough. ”

Zhao Chen was slightly stunned, and said thoughtfully: "As long as my Great Song itself remains strong, I can be more worry-free." ”

Yang Yan nodded and said: "If the country is weak, the enemy country will bully each other, and if the country is strong, the enemy country will respect each other, and that's it." During the Han and Tang dynasties, when the country was strong, it was possible to drive out foreign races and use them for my use. ”

Zhao Chen also nodded and said, "Brother-in-law is reasonable, according to what my brother-in-law said, I will ally with Mongolia." ”

Yang Yan hurriedly said: "But it is not appropriate to officially contact Mongolia now." So he told Zhao Chen the results of the discussion of the staff division. Then he said: "Before the imperial court officially allied itself with Mongolia, it is not appropriate to let others know, so as not to leak the news." ”

Zhao Chen was also very satisfied after hearing this, and said: "Brother-in-law has thought about it thoroughly, everything is as my brother-in-law said, just go and arrange it." With the help of my brother-in-law, the great cause of Zhongxing and the Great Song Dynasty will be accomplished. ”

After obtaining Zhao Chen's consent, Yang Yan immediately began to arrange, first of all, to transfer some people from the Ministry of Duties to Western Xia. Lai Wenzheng volunteered and was willing to take on this important task. Yang Yan consulted with others and agreed to Lai Wenzheng's request. Because Lai Wenzheng was originally a tea merchant, he was familiar with business affairs, and he was shrewd and capable, opened up joints, and was quite skillful in socializing, and he had worked as an intelligence collector, so he was indeed a good candidate.

Yang Yan sent Zhao Cao and Zhu Que to be Lai Wenzheng's deputies. After the Great Song Dynasty settled down, both of them served in the Ministry Division, but Zhao Cao converted to Buddhism and became a practitioner with hair and practice.

Buddhism was prevalent in the Western Xia Kingdom, which provided a lot of convenience for monks like Zhao Cao. And Suzaku is strong in martial arts, outstanding in light skills, and proficient in all kinds of hidden weapons, which can not only protect Lai Wenzheng's safety, but also serve as assassination and assassination. The two of them helped Lai Wenzheng, which made Yang Yan very relieved.

At the same time, Yang Yan sent 12 of their right-hand men, all of whom had been specially trained by the Ministry of Justice, and were shrewd and capable, and he also allocated 100,000 yuan as funds for their activities.

At this time, Yang Yizhong also officially submitted his resignation to the imperial court and asked to be released. After receiving Yang Yizhong's resignation, the imperial court immediately issued an edict to keep him. But Yang Yizhong immediately resigned again and continued to ask for office.

After repeating it three times, the court saw that Yang Yizhong was determined to make a decision, and finally agreed to Yang Yizhong's resignation. At the same time, he also removed Yang Yi from the post of commander of the former division of the middle hall, but retained his title of king of Tong'anjun, as well as the titles of Wusheng, Chongxin, Zhaohua three towns Jiedu envoy and Kaifu Yi Tongsan division, and promoted Yang Yizhong's official rank from young master to division, and filled the cloud and the cloud to watch the envoy. Settled in Ningguo Mansion.

Han Yanzhi, the privy envoy, proposed that Li Xianzhong, the envoy of Huaixi, be transferred back to Jiankang Mansion and serve as the commander of the front secretary of the palace, replacing Yang Yizhong. Bi Zaiyu, who was temporarily living in Jiankang, was appointed as the commander of the soldiers and horses of Huaixi Road, presiding over Huaixi military affairs.

Subsequently, Yang Chaoguang, the commander of the Xingzhou Imperial Garrison, also submitted his resignation to the imperial court, and Yang Chaoliang, a member of the Privy Council, also wrote to the imperial court, asking for foreign appointment. After the resolution of the Chinese book, the resignation of the two was agreed, and Yang Chaoguang was crowned as the envoy of the fixed festival, and the envoy of longevity was also placed in Ningguo Mansion. He also appointed Meng Zongzheng to replace Yang Chaoguang, but he was appointed to control the former garrison of Xingzhou. and appointed Yang Chaoliang as the governor of Zhining State.

Ningguo Mansion is located more than two hundred miles south of Jiankang, and can be reached if the horse is fast and gallops for a day. Therefore, although Yang Yizhong's father and son are all released, they are not far from Jiankang.

After Yang Yizhong's father and son arrived at the office, and Yang Yan now has no errands, the momentum of the Yang family suddenly decreased a lot.