Snow-capped mountains, palaces, grasslands, melodious pastoral songs in the distance, bustling markets nearby, goshawks circling in the blue sky, rivers meandering on the grasslands, this is the capital of Tibet, Luoxue City, which is now Lhasa .
Yanyun envoy Fan Yong stood by the window on the second floor of the guest house, looking at the scenery outside the window with a thoughtful expression on his face. The sound of footsteps on the stairs behind him brought him back from his thoughts. Turning around, I saw deputy Wang Changshan running over with a letter. Wang Changshan saluted Fan Yong and handed the letter: "An urgent letter from home!" Fan Yong took the letter and looked at the cover. He saw the four characters "Fan Yong personally writes" on it. He opened the envelope and took out the letter paper. He handed the envelope to Wang Changshan's hand, unfolded the letter paper and read it again. A look of joy suddenly appeared on his originally serious face, and he couldn't help shouting: "Great! Our army has won a great victory!"
Wang Changshan's eyes lit up and he asked hurriedly: "Sir, what is the situation in Xixia?"
Fan Yong walked back and forth excitedly and said: "Our army marched from the north to the south and defeated Xixia one after another. Not long ago, the army broke through Xingqing Mansion in one fell swoop. The Emperor and Queen Mother of Xixia were all captured. Our army won a great victory. !”
Wang Changshan did not expect that the performance would be so brilliant. He was so pleasantly surprised that he couldn't help but said: "This is really great!"
Fan Yong stopped, picked up the letter and read it, frowning slightly and said: "But there is another news." He walked to the window, looked at the majestic Tubo Palace not far away, and said: "Our army is here After occupying Xingqing Mansion, the war cavalry continued to rush forward to the southwest, sweeping away the enemy troops, and at the same time captured the Xishou Baotai Army Division, Zhuoluo and Nan Army Division, and the troops were directed towards Xiliang Mansion!"
Wang Changshan said puzzledly: "This is a good thing. Why does your Excellency look worried?"
Fan Yong turned around and asked with a smile: "Do you know who our army encountered Zhuoluo and Nanjun in Xishou Baotai Military Division?" Wang Changshan was very surprised when he heard Fan Yong ask this. :'Aren't the enemy troops in the Xishou Baotai Army Division, Zhuo Luo and the Nan Army Division not Xixia people? Suddenly his heart moved and he said anxiously: "Is it possible? Is it possible that they are actually Tibetan people? How is this possible?"
Fan Yong nodded, "You guessed it right!" Then he frowned and thought: "Why he became a Tubo is not explained in the letter. But I guess that it was probably the Xixia people who gave it to the Tubo people on their own initiative. , Huh, we want to divert the attention of the trouble to the south and let us fight with the Tubo people so that they can get a chance to breathe! It's quite smart, but it's a pity that the Tubo people don't have the qualifications!" Wang Changshan snorted coldly and said: "The Xixia people are Wishful thinking! Since the letter says that our army has already invaded Xiliang Mansion, maybe Xiliang Mansion has been captured by our army at this time, and Xixia has been completely destroyed!"
Fan Yong shook his head, "No. King Yan has ordered all armies to stop attacking."
Wang Changshan was very surprised and asked: "Why is this? Our army is overwhelming and the enemy's army is defeated. Isn't it a great opportunity to conquer Xixia in one go?"
Fan Yong said: "You only know one but not the other. Our army is indeed overwhelming, but there is one difficult thing, and that is the problem of food and grass." Wang Changshan was stunned. If Fan Yong hadn't mentioned it, he would have forgotten it. . Just listen to Fan Yong continue: "The grain and grass raised by our army before the war have been almost consumed, and the army can no longer conquer in a short time. If it were not for the constraints of grain and grass, we would have wiped out the Xishou Baotai Military Division, Zhuoluo and the Southern Army. Si will never have only 20,000 cavalry to fight, it will be a huge force of thunder and force, and in an instant, the remnants of Xixia will be wiped out!"
He walked to the Tubo table and sat down, read the letter again, and folded the letter. Upon seeing this, Wang Changshan quickly handed over the envelope. Fan Yong took the envelope, put the letter paper into the envelope, and then put the envelope on the small table at hand. He raised his head and said to Wang Changshan: "King Yan wants us to stabilize Tubo as much as possible and do our best to destroy the possible peace between Tubo and Xixia." Wang Changshan nodded thoughtfully.
At this moment, rapid footsteps came from the stairs. The two of them looked towards the stairs together, and saw the secret guard team leader responsible for guarding them running up, clasping his fists and saying, "Sir, the Tubo Emperor has sent someone, and they are waiting below."
Fan Yong and Wang Changshan looked at each other. Fan Yong stood up, bent down to pick up the letter on the table, handed it to Wang Changshan, and ordered: "Keep it carefully." Wang Changshan accepted the letter, acknowledged it, and then He walked to an exquisite small wooden box nearby, took out the key, opened the copper lock, opened the lid, and put the letter inside. There were also some documents-like things in the small wooden box. Wang Changshan put away the letter, closed the lid again, locked the copper lock, and kept the key close to his body.
Fan Yong, accompanied by the secret guard team leader, went to the living room below. He saw the waiting envoy. He walked up, smiled and clasped his fists and said, "I'm sorry for keeping you waiting for so long!" The envoy hurriedly replied. After a salute, he said: "Your Majesty, please invite your envoy to go to the palace for a while!" Fan Yong nodded, stretched out his hand and said: "Please lead the way!" The envoy nodded slightly, turned and left. Fan Yong said to the squad leader: "You guys stay here, I'll come as soon as I can." Seeing the squad leader's worried look, he smiled, patted his shoulder, and left.
Fan Yong came out of the guest house and boarded the carriage brought by the envoy. Then the carriage started and went straight to the palace.
Soon after, Fan Yong followed the messenger into the palace hall. Fan Yong glanced at the hall and saw that the emperor and several important ministers were there. Everyone looked gloomy. He had already received the letter sent to him by Chen Xiao, so he was confident about the situation in front of him.
He strode to the center of the hall, clasped his fists towards the Tubo Emperor who was sitting high above him and said, "Your Majesty!" The Tubo Emperor snorted angrily and said angrily: "I thought King Yan was a great hero, but I didn't expect him. He betrayed his trust and stabbed someone in secret!!" Fan Yong naturally knew what was going on, but he pretended to be confused and said: "I don't understand what your Majesty means!"
The Tubo Emperor snorted again, turned to look at Prime Minister Zambala standing on the left, and said, "Tell him." Zambala bowed and agreed, then straightened up and said to Fan Yong: "We have an appointment. Attack Xixia, but your army suddenly plotted against us and launched a surprise attack on our troops who occupied Xishou Baotai Military Division, Zhuoluo and Nan Military Division. Our army was caught off guard and was defeated by you, and you also snatched two pieces of land! "
The Tubo Emperor said angrily: "You are too dishonest, and you betrayed your trust and attacked your allies! King Yan must give me an explanation, otherwise, otherwise..." He said two "others" in a row, but he couldn't explain why.
Fan Yong frowned and said: "I don't know about this, but according to the information I got before, the Xixia Army should be stationed in these two places!" He glanced at the Tubo Emperor and said, "I think the news your country got before is the same. !" The Tubo monarchs and ministers looked at each other and remained silent.
Fan Yong continued: "Now it is suddenly said that the defenders in these two places are not the Xixia army but the Tubo army. This is really confusing!" He glanced at the Tubo emperor and asked: "Is it possible that the Tubo army secretly negotiated with the Xixia army? What agreement was reached? So that Xixia voluntarily gave up those two pieces of land?" Fan Yong called this "Zhu Bajie beats him up and rake him up". He did this deliberately because he wanted to take the initiative in theory. In fact, in his heart, he disagrees with the idea that allies cannot break promises. There are no true allies in the world's struggle for supremacy. We only unite for benefit and will also divide for benefit. Morality does not matter here. Realistic fantasy, success will lead to princes, failure will lead to bandits. Of course, these are things that we know very well but cannot be expressed openly. To save face, everyone has to be reasonable. Haha, it’s a hypocritical game.
The Tibetan monarchs and ministers heard each other say, "Did Tubo actually reach an agreement with his subordinates secretly?" 'With these words, his face changed and his expression became very unnatural, but these expressions only disappeared briefly. However, Fan Yong had already seen the unnatural expressions in everyone's eyes, and with a thought in his heart, he thought to himself: I originally just raked the water to stir up the troubled water, but now it seems that it is really something famous!
I only heard the Tubo Emperor saying anxiously: "Your Majesty, please don't talk nonsense! We, how could we have any contact with Xixia!" Zambala continued: "Your Majesty, please do not try to muddy the waters. Xishou Baotai Military Division and Zhuo Both Luo and Nanjunsi were captured by our army! However, Yanyun's army betrayed their faith and tore up their alliance, openly attacked their allies, and took away the land that should belong to us! In both emotions and reasons, Yanyun should have these two pieces of land. Give it back to us!" All the ministers agreed.
Fan Yong smiled coldly, looked at the emperor, and said: "We Han people have a saying, 'If others don't know, don't do anything except yourself'! Although your country denies secret contact with Xixia, our spies in various places in Xixia have discovered that, The two of you have been in contact! I wonder what His Majesty the Emperor has to say about this?" Fan Yong's words were so conclusive that it made people feel as if Yan Yun knew everything. The Tubo monarchs and ministers couldn't help but become a little panicked, and they completely lost the momentum they had just before to raise an army to accuse them.
The emperor was at a loss and looked at Prime Minister Zambala. Zambala's mind was racing, and he felt that this matter could not be admitted in any case. No matter whether the other party really knew it or not, even if he was acting rogue, he would have to hold on until the end. Otherwise, he would not have the strength to challenge the opponent, and there would be no reason to argue with him. How could he still fight with Yan? Get along with the cloud? As soon as he thought about this, he looked up at Fan Yong, glared and raised his eyebrows and said: "What your envoy said is just a slander! I didn't expect that your envoy, as the envoy of Yanyun, would talk nonsense like this and confuse right and wrong. It is really disgusting! The King of Yan has betrayed his trust and clearly did not How will the people of the world view King Yan if he insists on using strong words to explain the truth?" Other ministers also criticized King Yan and Yan Yun.
Fan Yong ignored them, glared, and shouted: "How outrageous!!" It was like a thunder exploded in the hall. The Tubo monarchs and ministers were startled, and the voices of accusations and curses suddenly stopped.
Zambala snorted and said loudly: "Nothing can be exaggerated with a word of reason. If you are justified, you don't have to speak loudly. Your envoy shouted so loudly. Is it because I am running out of words?"
Fan Yong chuckled and said sarcastically: "Your Majesty, the Prime Minister, is really clever with his words. He confuses black and white and calls a deer a horse, but he can be so upright and awe-inspiring. I admire you! You are obviously colluding with Xixia, but now you come to accuse us, Yan Yun, of betrayal!" See Zambala again When he wanted to speak, he waved his palm suddenly and said loudly: "You don't have to defend this matter. We already know the details. Besides, these are just disgusting!" Fan Yong saw that Zambala had made up his mind to mess around, so There would definitely be no results if he continued to entangle. Instead, he might put himself in a disadvantageous position theoretically, so he decisively cut off the topic.
He turned to look at the Tubo Emperor and said, "We, Yan Yun, don't want to care about this matter. Does Tubo want to fall out with us, Yan Yun, by being so entangled?" This question was full of anger and an aggressive attitude.
The emperor quickly said: "Your envoy has misunderstood. How dare we, how dare we fall out with Yan Yun!..."
Seeing that the emperor spoke softly, Zambala quickly continued: "Since each matter has its own reasons, let's leave it at that. Our Emperor, Your Majesty, invites your envoy here to discuss the matter with Xishou Baotai Military Commander and Zhuo Luo. Talk to your envoy about the ownership of the two pieces of land in Nanjunsi. According to the previous agreement, whoever takes the land will belong to him. These two pieces of land were taken by our Tubo army soldiers on the battlefield, so according to the agreement, you should Give it back to us! King Yan is a world-famous hero, so he doesn’t know how to keep his words!"
Fan Yong said: "King Yan naturally means what he says! But this matter needs to be explained clearly. These two pieces of land were clearly handed over to you by you and Xixia during the peace agreement. Moreover, you did not send anyone to inform us afterwards. It was you who violated the covenant and left us." First, our army will attack according to the plan and seize these two pieces of land without any problems!"
Zambala said angrily: "The facts are very clear, but why do you insist on making excuses? King Yan is not trustworthy, and I'm afraid he will lose even more. Everyone in the world will lose trust in King Yan!"
Fan Yong said proudly: "The prime minister is clearly the one who made strong remarks! In order to cover up the peace with Xixia, he is still entangled in this matter!" Then he glanced at the Tubo monarchs and ministers, and said angrily: "You Tubo people clearly violated the covenant first, my family The King of Yan doesn’t care much about it. You just accept it when you see fit. You actually want to slander King Yan. It’s justifiable to be strong and rude. What do you want? Do you have to force my King Yan to be furious and raise an army? Do you want to give up?"
There was silence in the main hall, and you could hear a pin drop. The Tubo monarchs and ministers were angry, frightened, and a little depressed. They felt that the peace with Xixia was actually known to Yan Yun. This was an unexpected mistake. What was originally very reasonable can now be explained clearly. .
Zambara frowned and asked: "What do you mean by your envoy's words? King Yan does not intend to return the two places?" Fan Yong said categorically: "You are not from Tibet, so how can you talk about returning it? There is nothing wrong with this matter. It's easy to discuss!" He looked at the Tubo Emperor and asked in a tone of indictment: "As for your private peace with Xixia and the violation of the covenant, please give us an explanation! If there is no good explanation, it will definitely affect both of us. of diplomatic relations!”
The Tubo Emperor felt a little overwhelmed and looked at Zambara hurriedly. Zambala said quickly: "I have already explained that there is absolutely no such thing. What your envoy heard was just a rumor!"
Fan Yong glanced at Zambala and said to the emperor: "We both know whether this matter is true or not. Whether you admit it or not does not affect our judgment. Originally, King Yan did not want to pursue this matter, but , Huh, you Tubo people are actually here to pester you endlessly. If this is the case, then you have to ask King Yan to reconsider whether to pursue this matter!"
The Tubo Emperor was taken aback and said hurriedly: "Since King Yan no longer intends to pursue this matter, it would be better for your envoy not to cause trouble!" When Zambala heard what the emperor said, he couldn't help but frowned and secretly cried out. . Sure enough, Fan Yong sneered and said: "Your Majesty's words, don't you admit that you have made peace with Xixia?"
The Tubo Emperor was shocked and secretly blamed himself. However, the words had already been spoken and he could no longer deny it. He looked very embarrassed. Fan Yong softened his tone and said: "It is natural for me to do more than to do less. As long as you no longer dwell on the past, I will naturally be happy and relaxed and will not say anything to King Yan that may cause additional trouble. "
The Tubo monarchs and ministers were very depressed, and they felt as if they had stolen the chicken but lost the rice. I felt that Yan Yun was a bit bullying, but he had nothing to say. Fan Yong saw that the other party's arrogance had been suppressed by him, and said: "We, King Yan, are not people who do not take care of our friends! In view of the Tibetan side's efforts and efforts, but no results, King Yan decided to open the previously prohibited ironware, porcelain, silk, salt, Cloth trade!" When the Tubo monarchs and ministers heard this, they were all overjoyed. You must know that Tubo is rich in salt and cloth, but ironware and porcelain are in short supply, especially there are no iron mines. Therefore, the demand for ironware can be said to be ravenous, and it is produced in Fine porcelain and silk from the Central Plains are luxuries that the Tubo nobles yearn for. The reason why Chen Xiao previously banned the above trade with Tibet was out of considerations of suppressing Tibet, but now he decided to open these trades out of considerations of appeasement.
With Yanyun's current strength, he is naturally not worried about the alliance between Xixia and Tubo. However, if the two families really unite, it will undoubtedly add many obstacles to Yanyun's unification of the West. Appeasing Tubo to prevent Tubo from forming an alliance with Xixia will undoubtedly be a strategic step in unifying the West. advantageous.
Fan Yong continued: "In addition, King Yan promised not to use troops in Xixia within one year. If Tubo can annex the entire Xixia within this year, King Yan will be happy to see it happen!" The Tubo Emperor was overjoyed and shouted anxiously. He asked: "Does King Yan really mean what he said?" Then he asked: "Is King Yan willing to enter into a formal alliance with me, Tubo?"
Fan Yong smiled and said: "This is what King Yan means, and he is naturally willing to enter into this covenant!" The Tubo Emperor said: "Great, I will draft a document immediately and send someone to Yan Yun as an envoy."
Fan Yong said: "This is the best thing. King Yan has now returned to Tianjing New City. Your envoy can go directly to Tianjing New City." The Tubo Emperor nodded, "Okay!" Fan Yong saw that his goal had been achieved, There was nothing more to say, so he clasped his fists and said, "If your Majesty has nothing else to do, I will go back and prepare for my return." The Tubo Emperor asked, "When will your envoy leave?" Fan Yong said, "Tomorrow morning ." The Tubo Emperor thought for a moment and said to Fan Yong: "My envoy will come to see your envoy early tomorrow morning and will go to Tianjing New City with your envoy." Fan Yong nodded and said: "Okay." Then he hugged the Tubo Emperor and turned around. went.
The Tubo Emperor let out a long breath and felt that although the expected goal was not achieved, the gain was still considerable. He glanced at the frowning Prime Minister Zambala who was silent and asked curiously: "Why has the Prime Minister been silent since just now?"
Zambara bowed slightly to the emperor and frowned: "Your Majesty, although it is beneficial to us to liberalize trade in ironware, porcelain and other trades, it is only out of consideration to appease us..."
"I don't agree with what the Prime Minister said!" A low and hoarse voice suddenly interrupted Zambara's words. Everyone followed the voice and saw that the person speaking was an old man with a thin face and a deep temperament. He was none other than Hami, the most virtuous and respected old nobleman in Tubo.
Hami bowed slightly to the emperor and said: "Although what the Prime Minister said makes sense, I think Yan Yun's actions are mostly to make up for us. After all, with Yan Yun's current strength, even if we are completely different from Xixia, The alliance cannot threaten them! Since it cannot threaten them, why should they worry about our alliance and appease us? So I think the reason for opening trade is because King Yan felt that he owed us, so he used this to compensate us! This is a good thing, everyone must not Random thinking turned a good thing into a bad thing! As for the promise not to attack Xixia within a year, this should be the same consideration! This is a great opportunity for us!"
The emperor was deeply convinced, and all the ministers discussed it, and they all felt that what Elder Hami said was very reasonable. Zambara frowned and said: "Promise not to attack Xixia within a year, but to let us attack. I'm afraid it's a vicious plan of the King of Yan, the mantis to catch the cicada and the oriole behind!"
Hami laughed, looked at General Songhe, and asked: "General Songhe, given the current situation of Xixia, do we have any problems if our Tibetan warriors want to destroy them?" Songhe glanced at Zambala , said loudly: "The Prime Minister is overthinking! Almost all the elite main forces of Xixia have been annihilated by Yan Yun. What's the point of the few remnants of Xixia that are just hanging on now! With only one hundred thousand troops, the entire Xixia can be annexed within three months! This is without a doubt !" Then he went to the emperor to invite the emperor to fight and said: "Your Majesty, please let the last general lead the army to quell the summer. The last general will be able to succeed immediately and live up to your majesty's trust!"
The emperor chuckled and said, "General Songhe is our number one warrior in Tubo, so he will succeed immediately! But the general is General Pingxi, and he serves as the commander-in-chief of Pingxia. I'm afraid..."
After listening to the emperor's intention, Songhe seemed to still want to let Zanbutai serve as the commander-in-chief of Pingxia. He couldn't help but ridiculed: "If General Zanbutai was really capable, he would not lose so much but be unable to capture an inch of land." Yes!" The emperor frowned and said: "This matter will be discussed later. What needs to be discussed now is the candidate for the envoy Yan Yun!" As he spoke, he glanced at everyone. Everyone deliberately avoided the emperor's gaze. Obviously, everyone Not willing to travel thousands of miles hard. When the emperor saw this scene, he couldn't help but feel dissatisfied.
Zambala suddenly came out, bowed to the emperor and said: "Your Majesty, I am willing to make this trip as an envoy!" The emperor was overjoyed and said: "The prime minister has been on a mission to Yanyun. If you are willing to go, that would be great. No more! So I appointed the Prime Minister as the imperial ambassador to Yanyun, and I must let Yanyun feel the goodwill of our Tubo!"
What happened after all? Let’s see the breakdown next time.
