Located in the north of Jiehe Shang City, next to the port area on the north bank of the Jiehe River, the pavilion for Yelu Nanxian is a garden-style building wrapped in a tall red wall - the southern section of the garden wall is actually a city wall, which is connected to the west side of the arc-shaped north city wall of Jiehe Shang City, becoming a de facto city wall. To the east of this garden, there is also a large racecourse, which also has a tall wall, and the south wall of which is connected to the east side of the north wall of Jiehe Shang City, which also became the de facto city wall.

There is no gate between the two sections of the "de facto wall", but a brick and stone avenue that leads directly from the north gate of the north city of Jiehe, leading to the pier and the Jiehe pontoon. Although there is no gate, every winter, all you need to do is block the intersection with sandbags to turn Jiehe River Castle into a closed fortress.

Although the perimeter is a tall red wall with a defensive function, the inside of the red wall has a unique style.

Along the rugged path, passing through the pavilions, you suddenly see a lotus pond, and a delicate small pavilion in the center of the pool, standing in the frozen pool. Between the pond and the pavilion, there is a small stone bridge that is surrounded by trees of various colors, not seedlings, but adult trees transplanted from elsewhere.

Along the way, Wu Haogu was talking to Yelu Nanxian, mainly to inquire about her life experience. This princess Cheng'an may have a hint of fairy in her name, and she is very famous in later generations, but there are few records in historical materials. Wu Haogu saw that she was beautiful and cute today, so he became a little interested and inquired a little. Only then did I know that this Yelu Nanxian was originally from the Wenzhong Palace, one of the twelve palace guards of the Liao Kingdom, and was theoretically the descendant of Han Derang, who slept with the Empress Dowager Xiao.

However, Han Derang had no heirs, so the Wenzhong palace was inherited by the authentic Liao State Prince. But I don't know if it's because the feng shui of the "Wenzhong Palace" is not good, anyway, as long as you become the king of Wenzhong, you will be the heir. He inherited Han Derang's Yelu Zongye and had no sons, so he made Yelu Yalu, the son of Yelu Zongxi, the king of Wei, his heir. Yelu Yale gave birth to a son, who was the father of Yelu Nanxian. However, this prince of Wenzhong did not live his father, and now he is ancient, and he has no sons, but he gave birth to four daughters, called "East Immortal", "Southern Immortal", "Western Immortal" and "Northern Immortal". They are all beauties, and they are called the four fairies of Wenzhong Wangfu in Liao. Among them, Yelu Dongxian is married, and her husband is the eldest son of this King Xi (King Xi is not a knight, but an official position).

And this Yelu Nanxian is not only beautiful, but also very good at talking, not only can he chat with Wu Haogu for a few words of calligraphy, painting and writing, but also can say a few words about Confucian knowledge, and he is quite reasonable, obviously a smart girl with ice and snow.

Wu Haogu heard that Zhao Qianshun, the king of Xiping, was also a Confucian student, and he was also quite proficient in Han culture, so it seemed that he and Yelu Nanxian were really a natural pair.

……

The group entered the small pavilion, which was actually not small, enough to accommodate more than a dozen people for wine and feasts. On all sides of the pavilion, thick brocade curtains were hung, and stoves were raised outside the curtains—a common winter outdoor heating method among the wealthy and wealthy families of the Northern Song Dynasty, using the heat generated by the stoves to warm the air inside the curtain, and at the same time using the curtains to isolate the smoke. The mind is ingenious, but it is too extravagant, not to mention how expensive the charcoal is, even the brocade that insulates the smoke will be blackened after a few uses, which is equivalent to being wasted.

However, Pan Qiaolian and Guo Xiaoxiao, who only recently followed Wu Haogu, are two extravagant losers, who don't care about money at all, and waste things like this every winter.

And Wu Haogu also had the luxury of today, making the inside of a pavilion surrounded by ice as warm as spring.

Within the curtain of the pavilion, a welcoming banquet has reached the time for the guests and the host to enjoy themselves.

In addition to Wu Haogu and Yelu Nanxian, there were also Zhao Anhui, the greeting envoy sent by the King of Xiping, Ma Renwang, the envoy of the Great Liao Kingdom, Xiao Heda, the dowry envoy of Princess Cheng'an, and the concubine Yelu Guanyin (Guanyin is a very common Buddhist female name, which is everywhere in the Liao country where Buddhism is rampant), as well as Lin Chong, who entered the Xijin Mansion to greet Princess Cheng'an (he was the messenger of Jiehe Shang City) and the great monk Zhishen, and there was also a female Taoist priest Guo Xiaoxiao who was responsible for accompanying Princess Cheng'an.

Now the small talk between Wu Haogu and Princess Cheng'an has long ended, and the conversation has begun to turn to the main topic, that is, borrowing money to fight.

It seems that the matter of borrowing money to fight a war has not been heard much after the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, so when the great monk Zhishen proposed it to Zhao Anhui and Xiao Heda through Yelu Nanxian, the two of them didn't know how to answer for a while.

However, after repeated consideration, Zhao Anhui and Xiao Heda both thought that the money of the Great Song monks must be borrowed!

First, the Hexi Army is really short of money! The military strength of the Western Xia, the predecessor of the Hexi Army, was actually not based on money, but on tribes and land. However, after losing the seven states of Yin, Xia, You, Yan, Shuo, Ling, and Wei, they were forced to sinicize, so that the land and tribes could no longer provide enough cheap troops. In this way, the Hexi army had to rely on the payment of military salaries for at least a period of time until they could seize new land in Anxi and distribute it to the soldiers and tribes.

In addition, due to the loss of a large number of military equipment in the previous war, and the loss of Xiazhou and Lingzhou, the two important military industrial towns, the current Hexi Army must also spend money to buy military equipment in order to be able to arm the Western Expeditionary Army.

Second, by borrowing money from the monks of the Song Dynasty, several major royal monasteries of the Song Dynasty could be tied to the chariots of the Hexi Army - if these monks wanted to recover the principal and interest of the loan for a penny, they had to find a way to stop it, or at least delay the reduction of the Great Song Dynasty.

As for the cutting of the domain, the top of the Hexi Army has no illusions! I'm afraid that the glass of wine that released the military power has already been prepared, and the question is only when to take it out.

If the Hexi Army wants to maintain its independence for as long as possible, in addition to hugging Zhao Ji's father's thigh, it has to make friends in the Great Song Dynasty, including the influential royal temples and Yuntai Academy.

And borrowing one or two million usury from the monks is probably the best way to win them over.

The third reason why the Hexi Army had to accept the "monk loan" was that there were also high-ranking people within the Hexi Army who knew the situation of the four towns in Anxi, so they knew that it would not be difficult to conquer the four towns of Anxi by force.

This is because the Black Khan Uighurs, who occupied the four towns of Anxi, were divided into two more than 60 years ago, with the Western Black Khan Uighurs in the river and the Eastern Black Khan Uighurs in Anxi. The two Black Khan Uighurs were weakened in their own ways, and the Western Black Khan Uighurs had been defeated and conquered by the Sultan of the Great Eclipse Country, leaving only the Eastern Black Khan Uighurs to survive.

Moreover, the weakened Eastern Black Khan Uighurs were still close to the Qocho Uighurs, who were originally of the same race, and if the Hexi Army were to march into Anxi, the Ghochang Uighurs would not only not come to the aid of the Black Khan Uighurs, but would join forces with the Hexi Army.

However, after the military conquest, the Hexi army will face strong resistance from the Heavenly Sects, and it is not easy to rebuild a harmonious religion and the four towns of Anxi with freedom of belief.

And the Yuntai School Palace, which is hiding behind the Great Xiangguo Temple of the Jiehe River, happens to have a way to reason with the Heavenly Sect!

“…… Of course, the Western Expedition is to use money, and when the King of Xiping arrives in Kaifeng Mansion, he will propose military funding to the imperial court, and some should be able to get some, if there is a shortage, I hope that I can borrow money from the temples of the Song Kingdom such as the Great Xiangguo Temple of the Jiehe. After all, this expedition to the west is also for the Buddha disciples on the ground in Anxi, if the light of the Buddha can shine on Anxi, it is also a supreme merit! ”

Zhao Anhui's mouth was full of scenes, and he said it quite reasonably, as if the monks of the Great Song Dynasty should give a sum of money to the Hexi Army for nothing!

The great monk Zhishen folded his hands together, looking like a monk with a high way: "Amitabha, I can't hide it, the poor monk was also a military attache of the Western Army before he became a monk, and he is not a layman for military affairs, so he also wants to bring a group of Buddhist disciples from the Central Plains to follow the king of Xiping to fight." However, the money in the Changsheng Treasury of the Great Xiangguo Temple of Jiehe belongs to another owner, and the temple is only in custody, and it cannot be the master of others. ”

What the? This fat monk still wants to go to the battlefield to promote Buddhism?

Zhao Anhui and Xiao Heda were stunned when they heard this, and said in their hearts: Will these Song Dynasty monks recite scriptures? Why is it that he is lending money, selling roast pork, and holding temple fairs, and now he is still fighting...... I haven't seen them recite the scriptures properly!

Wu Haogu laughed at this time and took over the topic of Monk Zhishen, "What the master said is right, borrowing money is buying and selling, and promoting the law is faith, and the two should not be confused." However, the Yuntai Academy can come forward to guarantee the loan of the Hexi Army, and if the Hexi Army does not come out in the end, then the Yuntai Academy Palace can bear half of the principal repayment! Master, with the guarantee of Yuntai Academy, you can always get a little discount in terms of interest, right? ”

Of course, there is a return for the guarantee or something. The great monk Zhishen wanted to take the opportunity of taking the lead in lending the Sangha group to take the monks of the Great Xiangguo Temple to Anxi to grab the land. And Wu Haogu wants to use the guarantee to send an armed evangelistic group to Anxi!

Now the headquarters of the Yuntai School Palace and the Jiehe Branch have been open for several years, and there are hundreds of doctors who have graduated one after another. These people don't have much of a good way out other than to act as teachers (mainly the Six Arts Academy needs them) and prepare to take the Right List Jinshi exam.

Therefore, Wu Haogu encircled them in Jiehe Shang City, and asked the military Ji Yi and young knights who came down from the northwest battlefield to give them "make-up lessons", mainly to make up military courses, just to let them spread the Confucian road with a sword and a hand in the future.

And the western expedition of the Hexi Army, isn't it an opportunity for the Doctor Regiment to show their talents?

The great monk Zhishen smiled: "It's easy to say, it's easy to say." ”

Wu Haogu looked back at Zhao Anhui and Xiao Heda and said, "I don't know how much you want to borrow?" Is 2 million yuan enough? ”