Chongzheng Palace.

Zhao Xu, a sick Song official, is now a little anxious and a little excited. He stared down at the urgent report sent by the pacification envoy on Hebei West Road, which was spread on the imperial case. As soon as the words "there are police on the frontier" came into view, it was like being stabbed, and his eyes immediately left the recital. This is not the first alarm sent from the north, the emergency recital of Hebei East Road and Hedong Road was sent to Kaifeng Mansion by 600 miles of expedited fast horses yesterday.

The contents of the three pieces are all similar, and they all report the changes in the Northern Dynasties!

The Northern Dynasty, that is, the "abnormal movement" of the Liao State, had been fully discussed in the court as early as before the Battle of Hengshan in the Song and Xia Dynasty.

Although all the important ministers, including the prime minister Zhang Dan, all agreed that the Khitans would not tear up the "Yuanyuan Alliance" that had existed for more than 90 years for the sake of the Song-Xia dispute, and provoke a war that would not benefit both sides.

But now the victory of the Song army in the battle of Hengshan-Pingxiacheng has greatly exceeded the previous assumptions.

The Song army not only held the fortified city of Pingxia and repelled the onslaught of hundreds of thousands of Western thieves for thirteen consecutive days, but also frequently penetrated deep into the territory of Western Xia, successively destroyed the walled city, ambushed the Western thieves, and even took advantage of the chaos of the retreat of the Western Thieves army, and attacked the important town of Tiandu Mountain in Western Xia with Guo Cheng and Zhe Keshi with two thousand elite cavalry, capturing more than 3,000 people, obtaining more than 100,000 cattle and sheep, and capturing alive the six-way unified army of the Western Thieves.

This series of victories was not achieved in the passive defense of the walled cities, but in field and siege operations, and the battlefields were all in the territory of Western Xia.

After this series of battles, the initiative in the battle of Song and Xia has completely fallen into the hands of the Song army!

Now the Western Army of the Great Song Dynasty seems to have the strength to fight and win face-to-face with the Western thieves on the desert grassland.

Although the Song army was not yet capable of breaking through the large and fortified cities of Xingqing and Lingzhou, it could weaken the Western Xia through constant field warfare and harassment.

At the same time, Zhang Dian and Zeng Bu also put forward a plan to restart the Hehuang operation. Prepare to take advantage of the opportunity of the lord of Qingtang and Tubo to blindly conquer Xinji, his position is unstable, and his subordinates have the intention of usurping to attack Hehuang and seize Qingtang, so as to outflank the southern line of the Western Thief.

In short, both the prime minister and the privy envoy Zeng Bu now believed that the possibility of destroying the Western Thieves, or expelling them from the Lingxia region (forcing the Western Xia to move west to Central Asia), was increasing.

As long as you stick to the current strategy - not attacking Lingxia Jian City, not ceasing war with the Western Thieves, and constantly expanding the battle line - the Western Thieves will not be able to hold on sooner or later.

In particular, the Great Song Dynasty currently has complete control over the Hengshan area, which can keep the Western Thieves out of the hinterland of the Great Song Dynasty, so that the Western Thieves will not be able to obtain wealth by plundering the Song Dynasty to support the war.

It can be said that the demise of the Western Thief is already a matter of time.

But will the Khitans watch the side of the "Three Kingdoms" wipe out or drive away?

Probably not!

And if the Khitans want to join the war, will the Great Song Dynasty be able to resist it?

Zhao Xu didn't have any bottom in his heart about this question. Since the news of the victory in Pingxia City came, he has been insomnia all night, his health has deteriorated, and the old problem of back pain has become heavier and heavier...... It's a shame to be scared like this after a big victory!

Just when Zhao Xu was lamenting all night, and the important ministers of the Manchu Dynasty were talking about it, each insisting on his own words, but no one could come up with convincing arguments, Tong Guan, the worship official who was sent out by the Queen Mother to run errands, went to the secret fold a few days ago. It is said that when the painter Wu Haogu was summoned, he met a son of the Lushan Ma family, who was probably one of the four major families of the Liao State, and also learned many important internal information about the Liao State from him......

In fact, the correspondence letter office has been spying on the intelligence of the Liao State, and has also received some reports of the Northern Obstruction Rebellion and the possible chaos of the birth of a daughter, but they are all very vague, and some of them are contradictory. It can't be compared to what Tong Guan reported in the tantra!

If everything said in that recital is true, then Liao is simply bluffing...... Because their "400,000" palace tent army can't be drawn out at all!

Otherwise, all the tribes and daughters will be in chaos, and the Khitans will only be able to watch the Great Song Dynasty repair the Western Xia unless they don't want their northern hometown.

And once the Western Xia was eliminated or expelled by the Great Song Dynasty, then the Great Song Dynasty would immediately be able to draw out 200,000 elites who had seen blood and fought old battles, and they could also obtain a large number of Tubo and Hexi horses, and the strength of the cavalry could also be raised to a higher level.

In the future, as long as capable ministers such as Zhang Dan, Zhang Qi, and Zeng Bu are sent to rectify the Hebei East Road, Hebei West Road, and Hedong Road, and build them into a place like Shaanxi Zhulu, they can support a long-term war. You will be able to fight another protracted battle with the Khitans......

does not seek to restore Yanyun in one fell swoop, as long as it can drag out a Liao civil strife, the Great Song Dynasty will be able to recover the land of Youyan as he wishes.

Although he couldn't be sure of the authenticity, Zhao Xu still immediately summoned Tong Guan, listened to him for an hour, and then was in a good mood, not only promoted Tong Guan, but also rewarded a Hanlin Painting Academy to be edicted to the painter named Wu Haogu - Zhao Xu has also seen the "Bishamen Tiantu" and Lu Zhishen sent by Han Yanzhong, so he knows that Wu Haogu's ability can be treated as an edict.

That night, Zhao Xu slept beautifully. But when I woke up, I started to feel nervous again......

In the Chongzheng Palace, the important ministers who were able to decide the national policy of the Great Song Dynasty had just concluded a debate on the policy towards Liao and Xia. Standing in the queue of the deacons, Zhang Dian seemed confident. In the Zhezong Dynasty, there was a situation that was different from the rest of the Northern Song Dynasty, that is, "Duxiang".

The official Zhao Xu's standards in employing people are different from those of other Zhao family emperors. He did not believe in the imperial trick of "mixing different opinions", but adopted a policy of "employing people without suspicion, and not using suspicious people". The person who made him "unsuspecting" is the only prime minister of the Great Song Dynasty, Zhang Dun, who is really in power.

Zhang Dian is alone, and his cousin Zhang Qi served as the commander of the Western Front (Shuaichen, pacifying envoys, placing envoys, etc.), not to mention the Song Dynasty where the ancestors of the official family were suspicious, even in the Han and Tang Dynasties!

However, this policy of "employing people without suspicion" achieved very good results in the war against Western Xia. Today, the Western Army's achievements are the best since the Western thieves caused trouble.

The reason why this is the case, on the one hand, is that the ability of the second chapter is indeed outstanding. Although Zhang Dun's evaluation in history is very poor, he belongs to the traitorous minister. However, during his years in power, the Great Song Dynasty treasury was full, the military power was strong, and the domestic people's livelihood was stable. In foreign wars, they won one after another - not the kind of winning streak with a 70% winning rate, but really opening up the territory and beating the Western Xia and Qingtang Tubo to bow down.

Zhao Xu looked at the old prime minister who had white hair but was still in good spirits, and thought: If God can give himself and Zhang Dian another ten years, the weakness of the Great Song Dynasty can be swept away......

"Zhang Qing," Zhao Xu opened his mouth, his voice slightly hoarse, "The matter of the West Road, everything will be carried out according to the original plan, and the battle against the Qingtang Dynasty will be prepared as usual." North Road ...... Strengthen vigilance, and do not show weakness to the Khitan. ”

"The ministers obey."

Zhao Xu's words moved Zhang Dian for a while: Mingjun! There is no doubt about employing people, boldly delegating power to the front, and there is no fear under the intimidation of the Khitans...... There is such an official family, it is really a blessing of the Great Song Dynasty!

It's just that the body of the official family is not as good as day by day, the face is gray, the body is thin, and the walk is shaky.

The official family is only in his twenties!

How did you get sick like this?

Could it be that God can't see the day when the Great Song Dynasty will become strong?

"Let's all retreat."

Zhao Xu felt a little tired, so he asked the deacons to leave the Chongzheng Hall and go to their respective affairs. In fact, after this morning, he didn't have to summon Zai Zhi to the Chongzheng Hall for a small meeting.

It was only because of his unrestlessness that he summoned Zhang Dian, Zeng Bu and others to discuss the matter. He originally wanted to show Tong Guan's secret fold at the Chongzheng Palace, but it was not appropriate to think about it. First, he didn't know what the details of this horse plant were, what if it was the fine work of the Liao people?

Second, if this Ma Zhi is really a generous gift from God, he must also use it well...... It should not be easily revealed, otherwise the news will be leaked, and it will not be good for the Khitans to know.

After thinking about it, he suddenly asked, "That painter...... Where is the name of Wu Haogu? Go find him and see him. ”

"Whoa!"

Hearing this, an internal official guarding the Chongzheng Hall responded to the words, turned around and walked towards the Hanlin Painting Academy. The Hanlin Painting Institute, also known as the Hanlin Painting Bureau, is one of the four bureaus under the Hanlin Academy, including the Imperial Doctor, Astronomy, Calligraphy, and Medical Officer. The government office is located in the east corridor of the Xuanyou Gate inside the palace city, after entering the palace from the Donghua Gate, then pass a left Chengtian Gate, walk a hundred steps to the west along a Yongdao, it is a crossroads, the north side of the intersection is the Xuanyou Gate, and the south side is the Zuoyintai Gate. Entering from the Xuanyou Gate, on the right side are the Hanlin Fourth Bureau, the Six Shang Bureau, the Imperial Kitchen, the Lecture Banquet Office, the Zishan Hall and other affiliated court institutions. On the left is the Chongzheng Palace, the Yeonhe Hall and the Gyeongbokgung Palace, the three palaces where the emperor worked and rested daily.

Just when the summoned internal officials came to the Hanlin Painting Bureau, Wu Haogu was accompanied by Liang Shicheng to visit the painting bureau and meet with his colleagues.

The inner east corridor occupied by the painting bureau is actually a row of corridor houses, with studios belonging to the edicts, art studies, and waiting, classrooms for the students of the art bureau, workshops for craftsmen, and rooms belonging to the officials and the ministers to be edicted. There are not many people waiting for the edict, art and waiting, there are only three people including the direct chief, there are six people in the art school, and there are only four people in the waiting, there are only thirteen people in total, and they are often dissatisfied.

As for the work in charge of the Hallym Picture Bureau, of course, it is painting, but it is not limited to art. The reason why I say this is because the Hanlin Picture Bureau of the Northern Song Dynasty actually had the duty of espionage!