After Guo Shao left the Sanqing Hall, he immediately asked someone to find the seal of the Grand Marshal of the Army of the World, and picked up a pen to write two words on the strategy presented by Cao Bin: "Approved". He did not change a word of Cao Bin's strategy.
As soon as the court was held tomorrow, Cao Bin was authorized in public. The Grand Marshal of the Army was not a military position, but a temporary assignment; he promised to give him an official title and a higher rank after Cao Bin finished his work.
Guo Shao decided on this matter, stood up and reflected on it several times. Then he walked to a large map on the wall, and his eyes subconsciously stared at the Youzhou area.
In the northern part of Youyun, there were two big characters written: Liao Kingdom. The large area occupied a large part of the paper, just like a huge dark cloud pressing down on the sky above the map, which made Guo Shao feel inexplicably pressured.
Below, Da Zhou has the largest area, but the surrounding lines are complex.
Guo Shao believed that the two countries would eventually compete in the Youyun Prefectures. This land was related to the fate of the country; this land was related to the sense of security. It didn't matter who it belonged to, but neither country could afford to lose it.
If the Central Plains abandons Youyun, it would be like a person exposing his chest in front of a powerful enemy armed with sharp weapons; if the Liao Kingdom abandons Youyun, it will lose a large supply of agricultural and urban materials that are essential for blood transfusions, and will no longer have an offensive base, and the decline of the country's fortunes will be inevitable.
The Northern Expedition ended quickly at the beginning of this year. Perhaps both sides found that they could not simply resolve this issue with a quick and easy solution. The temporary truce is brewing a bigger competition.
Guo Shao looked at the large dark cloud-like area above his head, wondering what the Liao Kingdom was doing now. He could guess that they were also busy dealing with internal issues.
Guo Shao is now busy solving internal problems and trying to accumulate more strength. The two countries are going to compete in the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun, but the battlefield is not just on the front line. The internal and behind-the-scenes issues are the key.
Two major decisions were made this year, and Guo Shao had high hopes for one of the tasks to be handled by Cao Bin; he also turned his attention to the northwest, which was a blank area because the person who drew the map did not understand the specific situation well and left it blank.
At this moment, Zuo You stood up from his chair, walked behind the screen, clasped his fists and said: Your Majesty, please take a look at this memorial, Lu Dosun is back.
Oh, Guo Shao was looking at the blank space in the northwest when the news about Lu Dosun came in. He turned around immediately.
As Zuo You handed over the memorial, he said: Lu Duosun has returned to the territory of the Great Zhou. This memorial was sent back by express horses from Bingzhou of Jingnan Army.
Guo Shaodao: As soon as Lu Dosun returned to Tokyo, he was immediately welcomed to the palace for a meeting.
Half a month later, the 25-year-old young civil servant Lu Duosun finally returned to Tokyo with only one military officer, Di Fang. He reined in his horse and stared blankly at the majestic Tokyo City Tower, which stood like a mountain above the plain, and the long city wall looked like the Great Wall of the frontier.
Brother Lu, let's go back to the capital of the Great Zhou Kingdom, Di Fang said with emotion.
At this moment, Lu Dosun's heart ached and he couldn't utter a word. His eyes were moist and he gritted his teeth, feeling a salty taste in his throat.
When he left, he brought a guard and delegation of more than 100 people, as well as various ceremonial guards. Now there were only two people left. He changed into a gray cloth. In order to get back as quickly as possible, he slept in the open air all the way. His hair was unkempt and his face was dusty. He was so thin that his cheeks were a little sunken. The young talent in the past seemed to have aged ten years at this moment.
Ludoson reached out his hand and touched his chest, and felt something. He heaved a long sigh, kicked his horse and said, "Let's go!"
When he reached the city gate, he was stopped by the soldiers guarding the city. A young officer looked Ludoson and the other two up and down, and saw them leading their horses, and asked: "What are you doing in the city?"
Lu Duxun hurriedly took out the seal from his horse and said: I am an official appointed by the court.
At this moment, a young general in bright clothes and armor shouted: General Lu, I am the commander of the inner palace, Du Chenggui, and I have been waiting for you for a long time.
Lu Dosun turned his head and saluted with his fists clasped.
Du Chenggui said: Please
Lu Duosun led his horse through the hole in the wall and saw two rows of neatly-armored cavalrymen lined up on the side of the road. Du Chenggui shouted, "Welcome Envoy Lu back to the court!"
All the soldiers drew their swords and raised them up in unison, shouting Du Chenggui's words loudly.
Lu Duosun was quite surprised, and his heart was warmed and excited. He was taken to a carriage in a daze. Du Chenggui invited him to get in and said: Your Majesty sent me to meet Envoy Lu, and I want to see you as soon as possible.
Lu Dosun had no time to prepare, and was taken to the Imperial City as soon as he entered the city. The emperor's personal soldiers cleared the way, and he immediately drove straight north from the center of the Imperial Street without any obstruction or trouble. On the way, he kept thinking about how he had not done his job well and how to speak when he met the emperor.
Then he entered the Xuande Gate, climbed up the platform of the Jinxiang Hall, and went to the East Hall.
Lu Dosun waited outside the door for a while, and then he heard a eunuch singing: "Lu Dosun is summoned to the emperor."
He then bowed and stepped into the palace door with a nervous and anxious mood. Once he entered, he saw about twenty high-ranking civil and military officials standing on both sides. Lu Dosun was stunned.
Wei Renpu, the deputy envoy of the Privy Council, said in a clear voice: In ancient times, Zhang Qian was sent to the Western Regions, and now Lu Duosun has fulfilled his mission.
Immediately, more than twenty important civil and military officials turned their eyes to him, all with their eyes focused on his face. Lu Dosun was suddenly very excited, his face flushed. He straightened his chest, took a deep breath, and walked steadily into the bright and clean hall from the center.
Guo Shao looked at the dishevelled official and couldn't help but look back at the blank space in the northwest on the large map on the wall.
Lu Dosun walked up to the imperial desk, knelt on the ground, and said loudly: I went to Guazhou by order, and will return to report to Your Majesty today.
"Lord Lu, please stand up quickly," said Guo Shao.
Thank you, Your Majesty. Ludoson stood up. He completely ignored the dirty cloth on his body, untied his belt and pulled open his outer robe in public. Everyone looked at him sideways, silently. If he was not dressed properly and behaved rudely in front of the emperor, he might be impeached by the court officials, but no one said a word to him at this time.
Ludoson then tore open a pocket that was sewn shut on his underwear, took out a leather bag from it, and then took out the rolled papers one by one.
He held it up with both hands and said: "I encountered two robberies on my way back. I was choked up. This is the record of the topography of the various regions in Hexi and the Western Regions. I only brought back this."
Eunuch Cao Tai walked forward, carefully picked up the papers, and placed them on the imperial desk.
Guo Shaodao: Who robbed the imperial envoys
Lu Duosun said: First it was the Ganzhou Uighurs, and then it was the Dangxiang people on the west bank of the Yellow River.
He paused and said: "My journey to the Guiyi Army was smooth, but it was very cold in Hexi at night, and several people froze to death." In Guazhou, I met Cao Yuanzhong, the governor of the Guiyi Army. Cao Yuanzhong held a ceremony in the eastern suburbs of Guazhou to pay homage to Your Majesty, accepting the imperial court's appointment as Xiping Hou, the inspector of the imperial guards, and the governor of the Guiyi Army.
Cao Yuanzhong treated me with great courtesy and offered me a map of the Western Regions and Hexi, as well as 200 fine horses as tribute. I stayed in Guazhou for many days, wrote down what I saw and heard along the way, and wanted to return to Beijing as soon as possible to report.
When we passed through the middle area of the Hexi Corridor in Ganzhou, we were intercepted by the Uighurs. Later, Cao Yuanzhong's people who saw us off gave us money, and we finally escaped with our horses and processions intact.
After hearing this, the ministers discussed it and said that the Uighurs were quite merciful. Some asked why Ludoson came back in such a state. Some asked about the horse.
Lu Duosun bowed to the left and right and said: It's not that the Uighurs are polite, it's really for Cao Yuanzhong's sake. Ganzhou used to be under the jurisdiction of the Guiyi Army, but was taken away by the Uighurs. The Guiyi Army fought many battles with the Uighurs, and there were many new and old grudges; but after Cao Yuanzhong took charge of the Guiyi Army, he made friends with various ethnic groups through marriage, and the relationship has been good over the years. There has been a lot of financial and commercial exchanges between the two sides, so the Uighurs will give Cao Yuanzhong face.
Guo Shao nodded after hearing this, and saw an official from the Hanlin Academy writing down what was said.
Lu Duosun said again: "When we were returning east, we suddenly encountered the Dangxiang cavalry on the bank of the Yellow River. I asked the guide to explain that we were envoys from the Great Zhou and were just passing through here."
Unexpectedly, the Tanguts heard that we were envoys from the Great Zhou and did not allow us any room for negotiation. They rushed over with weapons without saying a word. My followers and the Guiyi Army guards fought desperately, but they were outnumbered. I did not care about the good horses and ceremonial guards presented by the Guiyi Army. I was only concerned about protecting the blueprints and crossing the Yellow River. After crossing the river, only my follower Di Fang was left.
Wei Renpu said angrily: Although the Central Plains has been in war for many years, it still has prestige in the hearts of the tribes. Those Dangxiang people knew that the war horses were tributes to the emperor, but they dared to kill people and plunder goods openly.
Guo Shao also sighed secretly, knowing that the Central Plains Dynasty had not been able to set foot in the west for many years and had no influence on the various ethnic groups. How much prestige did it have
Lu Duoxun said: I rushed all the way to Jingzhou, and only then did I learn that the Tanguts hated the Han people because Feng Jiye, the governor of Shuofang in Lingzhou, killed his brother and seized the throne in the Hetao area. He changed his attitude and burned, killed and looted the Tanguts in the east and west for many years, which made the Tanguts very hateful. No wonder the Tanguts knew that we were envoys from the Great Zhou and killed us as soon as they came.
Wang Pu bowed and said: The Dangxiang people mainly live in Xiazhou and other five states. There are also Dangxiang tribes in the Hetao area of the Yellow River. The people who attacked Lu Shijun should be the Hetao Dangxiang people. The Dangxiang people in Xiazhou are mainly Tuoba tribes, who have changed their surnames to Li and have always been given official titles and promoted by the Central Plains. The current leader is Li Yiyin. The late Emperor Chai Rong promoted him to the position of Taifu Zhongshu Ling and the title of King of Xiping. In name, he has surrendered to the Great Zhou and rarely causes trouble. However, the Dangxiang people in Xiazhou are indeed a hidden danger.
Guo Shao suddenly realized that Xixia Kingdom should be this place
He then flipped through the files presented by Lu Dosun while listening to Lu Dosun's account of what he had seen and heard along the way.
Guo Shao praised him and said: "It was not easy for our ancestors to open up new frontiers and expand territory. Lu Shijun did not fear difficulties and dangers during this trip, and reopened our dynasty's vision of Hexi and the Western Regions, which played a significant role. We need people like Lu Shijun to revive our former reputation."