"Uncle! What nonsense are you talking about!"
Wang Erlang said angrily: "Have you forgotten what you said to me before?"
"You said this is fishing bait. As long as I bite it, I won't be able to escape, and it will become the imperial court's meal."
"Is this an easy job to be an official? If we can be promoted today, we can be demoted tomorrow. Isn't it because the court is afraid that we have knives and guns in our hands when it promotes us? How can we abandon our martial arts skills and let others slaughter us?"
Zhong Hao was bitter. These words were originally spoken by himself. How could he not understand them? But this Zhizhou...
"Why?"
While Zhong Hao was still in the battle between heaven and man, the imperial edict in his hand was already snatched away by Wang Erlang. He watched helplessly as the duck in his hand flew away. That feeling... ugh! It’s better not to give it!
Just like that, the second angel was invited back to the city for a drink by the uncle and nephew.
Not long after, the third angel came again. This time he was promoted to the founding county prince and prefect. He was still invited back to the city for a drink by his uncle and nephew. If another angel came, he could have a table to fight the landlord. .
A few days later, the uncle and nephew once again appeared outside Zhenrongjun City. Seeing a group of soldiers appearing in the distance, they quickly lifted their robes and ran to greet them without caring about their appearance.
This is just a team of dozens of soldiers. The number is not large, but it makes the two uncles and nephews who are guarding the lawless people here frightened and grovel. When they see the old man before the soldiers, they are as scared as chickens seeing an eagle. And well behaved.
The old man is more than seventy years old, his beard and hair are all white, his thin face has all the muscles and bones, and his cloudy eyes are half open and half closed, like a sharp sword piercing the heartstrings.
If you ask if there is anyone in the world who can stop Wang Erlang's plan to plot Xixia, the answer is yes, and there is only one!
He was not the emperor who controlled the life and death of tens of thousands of people in both countries, but the old man in front of him who stood upright with his sword.
He is the respectful name of the old father and mother of the people in the northwest, the teacher of the officials of all sizes in the Five Routes, the soul of the Western Army of the Song Dynasty, and the old man of the Song Dynasty and the Xia Dynasty, whose name is unknown to everyone from the elderly to the children in Huangkou -The way of cultivating teachers!
Historically, when the Jin Army marched south for the first time, this old man once again went to the city in armor to protect Bianjing in an old and sick body. Until the Jin Army went south for the second time and broke into Bianjing City, they all wanted to pay a visit to this old man. It's a pity that the old man died of illness in grief and anger at that time, which made the Jin Army generals sigh with regret.
This old man who was born and died in the military camp devoted his whole life to the Song Dynasty. When the old man's coffin was returning to the west after his death, he encountered robbers on the road. When the robbers heard that it was the coffin of a teacher, they all got down. Paying homage to the emperor and offering him money in return, there is no other person in history who has won more hearts than this.
The old man who was still alive at this time only occasionally showed some kindness when he looked at Wang Zhi. After all, this was his most beloved daughter's flesh and blood, and she also had half of his blood.
"Father."
"Grandpa."
The uncle and nephew stood in front of the old man, bowed and saluted, lowered their eyebrows and did not dare to make any unnecessary movements.
"Um."
Zhong Shidao turned over and dismounted, his movements were extremely smooth. The uncle and nephew wanted to help him, but he pushed him away, "I'm not old enough to need help."
The uncle and nephew hurriedly stopped their hands, bent down and listened to the instructions.
Zhong Shidao walked forward alone with his hands behind his hands, and the two of them quickly followed.
"I am returning home from my official post, and Your Majesty sent three letters in succession, asking me to come here to cultivate myself."
Hearing the old man's old but powerful voice, Zhong Hao hurriedly answered: "Father should live here forever so that his son can fulfill his filial piety."
Zhong Shidao snorted and said, "It is the greatest filial piety you can show to your father by guarding the border."
"Yes, my son dare not forget his father's teachings before the Northern Expedition. He has not taught the Xixia people to join the army for several months."
"That means Xixia people can get their daily necessities without joining the army."
As soon as Zhong Shidao said this, Zhong Hao immediately did not dare to answer. Wang Erlang, who had always been very nervous, was also watching his nose and nose in silence at this time. If he hadn't been walking forward, he would have been quite confused. Like a sculpture.
Seeing that no one spoke behind him, Zhongshi Dao paused and went straight to the topic: "Your uncle and nephew are so talented. They have made the entire Song Dynasty helpless."
"Father……"
"Stay here." Zhong Shidao stopped his son's words, looked at his grandson and said, "Zhier said."
Doesn't he know how many tendencies his own son has in his mind? This kind of method that holds the trade between Song and Xia in his hands and makes the courts of both countries unable to deal with it, how can a fool like him do it? It's just a handy gun at best.
"Grandpa...Grandpa...this..."
Wang Erlang panicked. He didn't panic when his uncle was unwilling to open a trade route. He didn't panic when Xixia's 50,000-strong army came to attack. He didn't panic when the envoys from the Song Dynasty came. But when faced with this old man, he didn't panic. When ordinary people looked at him, he panicked.
None of the gorgeous response words that he had thought of in advance could be uttered at this moment. All the exaggerations and embellishments melted away in the old man's eyes, as if he could see the depths of his heart directly through his eyes. , a cold sweat instantly broke out on my back.
He took a long breath, forced himself to calm down, looked into the old man's eyes and said, "Grandpa, my grandson wants to give it a try."
"How sure are you?"
Master Zhong turned his back and stopped putting pressure on him.
"Sixty percent!"
Wang Zhi did not brag this time, and was even a little humble. If he had asked before the envoy from the Song Dynasty came for the second time, he would have only been 20 to 30% sure at most. After all, the Song Dynasty court already knew about this matter, and he really didn’t know what to do about it. Resist, after all, the right time, place, people and people are not on his side.
But when the third envoy from the Song Dynasty arrived and learned about the failure of the Northern Expedition, his certainty increased to 60 to 70%.
As long as he lasts for another half a year and waits for the guard to fully grow, he won't be afraid of anyone.
"If grandpa supports it, the minimum is 70%." Wang Erlang added.
Zhong Shidao didn't stop walking and didn't speak anymore. He was born and raised here and has been dealing with Xixia all his life. If there is anyone who knows Xixia best in the world, it must be this old man.
He had known about it since the first time the Xixia Chamber of Commerce started doing business. At that time, he did not say anything to stop it. He could deal with any problems. Now that the situation has developed into this, he will naturally not stop it.
Seventy percent is enough for his entire family to keep it here.
The two uncles and nephews followed behind them obediently, not daring to take the initiative to talk to each other. After entering the city and having lunch together, Zhong Shidao left. Apart from chatting about some family issues, he never said a word about the family from beginning to end. Things about Xixia.
Grandpa left, and his grandson Wang Zhi and his biological son Zhong Hao breathed a sigh of relief and were very happy.
It wasn't because the boulder that was crushing them and suffocating them was gone, but because the old man had no intention of interfering with the Chamber of Commerce, and he also left twenty personal guards for Wang Zhi. These were all his personal soldiers, all of whom were skilled in martial arts. He is so powerful that he can be as strong as ten. Even if he encounters a large number of Liao soldiers chasing him outside Xiongzhou City, he can still cover the safe evacuation of a seventy-year-old man.
The old man's temperament was as fiery as the wind. He came and left as fast as he came. He returned to Luoyang, which is the hometown of the Zhong family and the only place he must pass through on his way to the northwest from Tokyo. The old man supported his son and grandson with practical actions.
From then on, the court never mentioned the incident in Xixia, nor did it send a fourth envoy, as if the matter had never happened.
However, their gazes did not dare to relax. In addition to their daily focus on the Northern Expedition, they also devoted some of their energy to watching every move at the northwest border. The latest developments on both sides would be reported to the court every day.
In October, Zhong Yanchong, the third generation son of the Zhong family in Luoyang and the grandson of Zhong Shidao, Zhong Yanchong, the eldest son of Zhong Hao, led dozens of retinues to the border pass and listened to his cousin Wang Zhi's account.
In November, Wang Zhi's general Yue Fei led hundreds of people to invade a Xixia city, killed several leaders of a large Xixia clan, and then left safely.
In December, Xixia once again organized an army of 50,000 to attack Pingxia City, but was also defeated in Tiandu Mountain.
In the same month, the Northern Expedition of the Song Dynasty was completely defeated after losing battles large and small. Tong Guan, the commander-in-chief of the Xuanfu Division in Hebei and Hedong Province, turned to the Jin people and begged them to send troops to recover Yanyun for the Song Dynasty. , and then the Song Dynasty court paid for it.
In the same month, as soon as the Jin army arrived, the upper-level Liao people in Yanjing fled, and the lower-level people asked to surrender. The Yanyun land that the Song Dynasty had cherished for more than 160 years completely fell into the hands of the Jin state, and the Liao state existed in name only.
In January of the fifth year of Xuanhe, Xixia did not give up and sent another 30,000 troops to attack Pingxia City in two groups. One group was defeated halfway by Yue Fei, and the other group was defeated frontally by an army led by Wang Zhi, the Marquis of Langya County. He personally killed the enemy generals. After that, the Xixia clan of Xixia was no longer able to organize an army to attack Pingxia City.
In the same month, the Chamber of Commerce condolences team headed by Zhong Yanchong completely entered Xixia, provided assistance to people in poverty-stricken areas, and helped tens of thousands of poor people. Many Xixia people spontaneously set up longevity tablets for Wang Zhi, burned incense and prayed for blessings every day .
Gradually, the people of Xixia only recognized the Chamber of Commerce and did not recognize the imperial court. The leaders of the major tribes were also alienated from the Dangxiang Li family. Imperial decrees could not even go out of Xingqing Mansion, and Pingxia City had the potential to replace Xingqing Mansion as the political and economic center of Xixia. trend.
In the same month, the Song Dynasty sent envoys to the Kingdom of Jin to ask for the sixteen states of Yanyun as agreed, but Jin refused and refused to fulfill the alliance agreement on the grounds that the "Sea Alliance" Song was out of date.
After pushing each other for several months, they finally reached an agreement. Song Dynasty successfully purchased Yanjing and its six prefectures and twenty-four counties with half a million yuan per year and one million yuan per year in lieu of taxes on the Yanyun land.
The rest of the Jiuzhou gold refused to be delivered on the grounds that it originally belonged to the Liao region and was not donated by Shi Jingtang of the later Jin Dynasty, and threatened with force. The Song Dynasty finally compromised.
In April of the fifth year of Xuanhe, Tong Guan led his troops into Yan. Along the way, the Jin people looted all the officials, soldiers, gold, silk, children, and food, leaving only an empty city.
In the Song Dynasty, Yanyun was renamed Yanshan Prefecture, and Wang Anzhong, Zuocheng, the minister, was appointed as the envoy of Yanshan Prefecture. Guo Yaoshi, the surrendered general of the Liao Kingdom, was appointed as the same prefect and led the ever-victorious army to garrison Yanshan.
In this way, the Song Dynasty achieved its wish and regained the seven states of Yanjing. The monarchs and ministers celebrated each other with their crowns and crowns, and gave great titles to the generals. They also wrote the "Recover Yanyun Monument" to show their merits.
