The soldiers sent by Li Huaixin to deliver the message were taken to the governor's Yamen by Zhang Huai.
When Governor Liu heard that Zhang Huai was coming, he immediately had Zhang Huai brought to Houya.
"I will finally join you, Lord Governor." Zhang Huai saluted Governor Liu and his party.
"There is no need to be polite, General Zhang." Governor Liu said, "Come, please serve tea to General Zhang."
The servant who was waiting on the side withdrew from the back office and quickly came to Zhang Huai with a cup of tea in a tureen. The tureen was placed on the table beside Zhang Huai.
Zhang Huai did not touch the tureen on the table, but said: "Li Huaixin, the commander-in-chief of Xinpingbao, sent a letter to the General Military Mansion and sent a letter from the Beibei, please see it."
After saying that, he handed over the letter given to him by Li Huaixin's personal soldiers to Governor Liu.
Governor Liu took the letter, read its contents, and asked with a calm expression: "What does General Zhang think of this matter?"
Zhang Huai hesitated for a moment and said: "The general thought that since this matter was caused by the Tiger Character Flag, it would naturally be ended by the Tiger Character Flag."
After hearing this, Governor Liu twirled his beard and looked thoughtful.
Zhang Huai didn't bother, he picked up the tureen on the table, put it to his mouth and took a sip. Feeling a little hot, he put it back on the table.
He had the countermeasures proposed by his staff in mind, and he chose not to say it before he knew what the governor meant.
Governor Liu tapped the wall of the tureen with his fingers, and after a long time he said: "As the governor of Datong, how can I compromise with the Beibei, and the people of Datong, even if it is a business, will not be humiliated by the Beibei. "
Hearing this, Zhang Huai gave Governor Liu a strange look.
I don’t understand why the other party would say such a thing. After all, as long as the tiger-shaped flag is sacrificed, the Beilu troops will retreat. It is a profitable business.
Wang Qingyuan, who was standing aside, somewhat understood what Governor Liu meant.
He felt that it was not that Governor Liu was unwilling to sacrifice the tiger-shaped flag, but that civil servants cherished their reputation and did not want to bear the bad reputation of someone who exchanged the people under his rule for the retreat of the Northern invaders.
Thinking of this, he whispered his guess to Zhang Huai.
After Zhang Huai heard this, he looked at Governor Liu and said, "Sir Governor, the general has another way to try. Maybe he can make the Northern prisoners retreat."
"Oh? What can I do?" Governor Liu asked.
Zhang Huai said: "The Beibei told us in a letter that they came to invade our country because the Tiger Character Banner defrauded their herdsmen of their wealth. Then we can ask the Tiger Character Banner to send people to the Beibei camp to persuade the Beibei to retreat. After the incident is completed, the Tiger Character Banner can be exempted from the crime of attracting the Northern Rebel Army to invade the border. If the Northern Rebel Army cannot be persuaded to retreat, the Tiger Character Banner can be arrested and imprisoned based on this crime."
"General Zhang's method is good, but we can't rely entirely on the people of the Tiger Character Banner. The army still has to be sent to Xinpingbao. Even if the people of the Tiger Character Banner cannot persuade the Beibei to retreat, our army can still stop the Beibei. Outside the border fort." Governor Liu agreed to the method of letting the people from the Tiger Character Banner persuade the northern rebels to retreat.
Zhang Huai said: "This matter should be done sooner rather than later. The general will arrange for someone to go to Lingqiu now and ask Liu Heng of the Tiger Character Banner to send someone to Xinping Fort to persuade the Northerners to retreat."
"You can arrange this!" Governor Liu said.
Although it was much better to let the people of the Tiger Character Banner persuade the Beilu to retreat than to hand the people over to the Beilu directly, it would still harm his reputation if word spread, so he was unwilling to get involved in such a thing.
But it's different for Zhang Huai. He is a military commander and doesn't care about this at all. On the contrary, the worse his reputation is, the more stable he can be as a military commander.
With the governor's consent, Zhang Huai was ready to do this when he returned, and the candidate had already been arranged, which was his aide Wang Qingyuan.
Considering the relationship between Wang Qingyuan and Hu Ziqi, and the fact that it was him who came up with the idea, it was most appropriate for him to come forward in this matter.
Before Zhang Huai could say goodbye, a government official came to Houyamen.
"Sir, a scholar named Zhao came outside and said he wanted to see you, Your Excellency. He also said that he was from the Tiger Character Banner." The Yamen servant said to Governor Liu.
"A scholar named Zhao?" Governor Liu frowned slightly, unable to remember who he was.
Du Wanyuan, a staff member on the side, said in a low voice: "The student thinks that this scholar named Zhao should be Zhao Yutu of the Tiger-Character Banner. Why don't you let him in? Sir, you can meet him and see what he is here for. Maybe he will be with Beilu." related."
Governor Liu hesitated.
He originally didn't want to see the tiger-character flag, but after hearing the words of his staff, he decided to see him and said to the government servant who came in: "Bring this person here!"
The officer retired.
Governor Liu looked at Zhang Huai and said, "You happen to be here too. Let's hear what the people from the Tiger Flag have to say."
"It also saves me from sending people to Lingqiu and notifying me later." Zhang Huai said with a smile.
After a short time, the government officials brought Zhao Yutu in from outside.
"I've met the Governor and the Commander-in-Chief." Zhao Yutu made a scholar's salute to Governor Liu and Zhang Huai respectively.
Governor Liu put the bowl in his hand to his mouth and took a sip. After taking it away, he said, "Why did you come to my office?"
"Report to the Governor." Zhao Yutu bowed and said, "The student is here this time because of the invasion of the Beibei army."
As soon as Su Nang led his army south, the people of the Tiger Flag on the grassland spread the news back to Lingqiu.
It's just that because the shortest road from Qingcheng to Datong was occupied by Su Nang's army, the people of Tiger Character Banner took a long detour to avoid Su Nang's army.
When the final news was sent to Lingqiu, Su Nang and his Mongolian army soon appeared on the grassland outside the border fort.
Governor Liu said: "Your Tiger Banner is just a business. Is there any way to make the Beilu retreat?"
"Yes." Zhao Yutu spit out one word.
Governor Liu looked at Zhao Yutu with great interest and said, "What method? If it works, I can let your tiger-character flag go and let the Northerners invade the border."
Zhao Yutu's mouth twitched when he heard this, but he still said: "Don't worry, Governor, this method will definitely work, and it won't cost a lot of soldiers."
As he spoke, he looked at Zhang Huai.
"If you say that, I'm even more interested. Tell me, how do your Tiger Character Banners want to make the Northern prisoners retreat!" Governor Liu said with great interest.
Zhang Huaigang just said a way to use the tiger-character flag to make the northern barbarians retreat. Unexpectedly, the people in the tiger-character flag also had a way to make the northern barbarians retreat. This made him very curious about the method of the tiger-character flag.
Zhao Yutu did not sell out, and said directly: "Actually, it is very simple. Our Tiger Character Banner is willing to send troops to fight the Beilu, and then force the Beilu to retreat."
"Your Tiger Flag is a business, where do you get the soldiers from?" Governor Liu's face sank.
However, Zhang Huai on the other side knew a little bit and said: "Tiger Character Banner has a regiment training in Lingqiu, there should be two to three hundred people."
When Governor Liu heard that Tiger Character Banner's soldiers were regiment drills, his expression softened a little and he said: "The Beibei army at Xinpingbao has tens of thousands of cavalry. How can you, Tiger Character Banner's two or three hundred regiment drills, make the Beibei soldiers retreat?"
"To be honest with you two adults, our Tiger Flag has more than just a few soldiers and horses for regiment training." Zhao Yutu said.
