Lingzhou is dry and windy, and the whistling of the wind outside can be heard from inside the palace.
The deputy envoy hurried to the door of the study. Guo Shao stopped talking with Lu Duosun and waved Wei Renpu in. Wei Renpu bowed and said hurriedly: Your Majesty, Cao Bin has news. The Zhou army won a victory in the north of Shaozhou, but the situation does not seem to be going well.
Guo Shaodao: I read Cao Bin's report before. As long as Shaozhou is captured, the conquest of Southern Han will be just around the corner. He cannot capture Shaozhou.
Wei Renpu said: I think it is very difficult. Since the confrontation between the Great Zhou army and the Southern Han army, they have mostly been on the defensive, and they win by repelling the attack of the Southern Han army. The progress is extremely slow. The Zhou army was affected by the miasma in the south, and many people fell ill. Some people even reported that they had encountered the plague. I guess Cao Bin may be considering withdrawing his troops.
Guo Shao frowned, and after a while he said: Ask the Taichang Temple to send the imperial physician to the south line for consultation and solve the disease problem.
Wei Renpu clasped his fists and said: Yes.
Guo Shao pondered for a moment and said: Send the letter back and ask Zuo You to go as well. When I led the troops before, I had a set of methods for isolation and disease prevention. Cao Bin has never followed me and may not be familiar with them. Zuo You is most familiar with those methods.
Wei Renpu could not help but say: Cao Bin has no military achievements to commend him, and his performance in attacking Southern Han was mediocre. The court spent so much money, and there was no shortage of armor, weapons, and food. He had as many as 100,000 soldiers under his command, and the expedition was very wasteful, but he fought the war like this.
Guo Shaodao: Although Cao Bin has a large number of people, we have to consider that he does not bring veteran soldiers.
Wei Renpu sighed: Southern Han was a weak country with a corrupt ruler and incompetent ministers. It was much worse than the former Southern Tang.
Guo Shao said without hesitation: Cao Bin has not yet written a letter to give up, so let him think of a solution, we can't rush him too much.
Wei Renpu noticed Guo Shao's attitude and tone, so he stopped talking. Cao Bin was a talent selected by Guo Shao himself. Guo Shao was unwilling to admit that he had made a mistake until he really failed.
Talking of this, there was a brief silence among the three people in the study, the king and his ministers.
Guo Shao stretched out his hand and rubbed his forehead a few times. A feeling of fatigue surged in his heart. He thought that he didn't do much every day, but things were not going well, and his mood would affect him.
Guo Shao pretended to be calm and said: You all should do your job, don't be too hasty.
Wei Renpu and the other two bowed and said: We will follow your instructions.
At this time, Lu Duosun said: Tomorrow we will send the Dangxiang people away, and I will request to be the imperial envoy and go back to Xiazhou with them to see Li Yiyin again.
Guo Shao and Wei Renpu were both surprised after hearing this. Guo Shao reminded them: This time is different from last time. If Envoy Lu goes there, his life will be in danger.
Lu Duosun said solemnly: If Xiazhou rebels and kills me, war is inevitable and more people will die. My life is not worth cherishing.
After hearing this, Guo Shao nodded in agreement and waved his hand silently.
The two men clasped their fists and said: We will take our leave.
Guo Shao stood up and paced around the room in a somewhat irritable manner. After thinking it over, it would be the most favorable situation if nothing happened in the west. If there was a war in the north, the Liao Kingdom would most likely intervene. The main battle line moved westward, which would not be of much benefit to the Central Plains dynasty, which had a large transportation cost. Moreover, the Liao Kingdom would have an additional ally. The Dangxiang territory of Xiazhou was not large, but the Dangxiang people were all soldiers and the terrain was complex, making it difficult to deal with. However, Li Yiyin was not necessarily willing to be used as a gun between the two major powers.
Guo Shao took a deep breath and realized that he had become a little careless after sitting firmly on the throne, and his tolerance for many things was still low.
He suppressed his anxiety and irritability in his heart, stood up and walked out of the study.
Led by the eunuch Wang Zhong, Guo Shao walked through a corridor and went to see Li Yueji again.
Li Yueji was sitting in the old house in a daze. When she saw Guo Shao coming in, she looked at him warily without getting up and showing almost no courtesy. Guo Shao didn't care and asked kindly: "Is Concubine Li feeling better these days?"
Li Yueji looked much more haggard. She said in a low voice: I shouldn't have let myself be tempted. I agreed to run away with Brother Lu. I thought it was just a trivial matter. Even if I was caught, no one could do anything to me.
As she spoke, her voice choked up: If I had been more sensible, Uncle Hidden would not have
Guo Shao said: It is understandable that Concubine Li Xian suddenly came to a place where she was unfamiliar with. Everyone makes mistakes, but the responsibility for the mistakes should be put on me.
Li Yueji was a little surprised after hearing this, and looked up at Guo Shao: You are so cruel to Brother Lu, why are you so tolerant of me? If I don't agree to Brother Lu, nothing will happen.
Guo Shao did not comment, and said: Tomorrow we will send the bodies of Mo Zang and his son back to their hometown with courtesy. Concubine Li will go with me to see them off.
Li Yueji said: Do you still want to keep me here
Guo Shaodao: I am marrying into the Li family, not the Mo Zang clan.
Li Yueji frowned and said: Your Majesty, I thought my father would marry into the royal family.
Guo Shaodao: It’s hard to say now.
The news of the death of Mo Zang and his son had already reached Xiazhou, and was then reported from Xiazhou to Shangjing, the capital of the Liao Kingdom.
Upon hearing the news, General Yelu Xizhen rushed to the home of Xiao Siwen, the deputy envoy of the North Court, to discuss the matter. He was welcomed into the inner courtyard, but saw Xiao Siwen leisurely watching the younger generation playing in the yard.
After the two of them exchanged greetings, Yelu Xizhen followed Xiao Siwen's gaze, took a closer look, and blurted out: Isn't that Yelu Xian
Xiao Siwen smiled and said: "This old man is also his maternal uncle's home. The cousins get along well. Yanyan Xiaochuo often talks about her cousin. It's not easy to see him once."
Yelu Xizhen nodded thoughtfully: Xian'er's mother, Queen Huaijie, is from the Xiao family.
Yelu Xian was already 13 or 14 years old, and a little frail, but he was still playful with his innocent and lovely 9-year-old cousin, and the two were chasing and playing. Xiao Chuo swiftly and flexibly circled around a tree a few times, and looked back at Yelu Xian, who was bending over and panting and couldn't catch up. She laughed so hard that her mouth couldn't close, and her giggles sounded like silver bells.
Yelu Xizhen put aside all the Tangut affairs and stared at the 13- or 14-year-old boy with great interest. It was not because the boy was special, but because of his family background.
Yelu Xian's father was Liao Shizong, the last emperor of Liao; his mother was the empress of Liao Shizong.
But the boy's current status is not high because the current emperor is from Taizong's lineage; while the boy's father is from Shizong's lineage. The throne of the two lines was replaced by the Huoshendian Incident in which the previous emperor was assassinated. Yelu Xian's embarrassing position can be imagined.
Xiao Siwen was so fascinated by his beautiful daughter's joy that it took him a while to come back to his senses. He turned to Yelu Xizhen and said, "The commander-in-chief is here for the Tangut affairs."
Yelu Xizhen said: Lord Xiao should have known that the Tangut nobles sent their father and son to die in Lingzhou. If there is any change in Xiazhou, they will definitely seek help from the Liao Dynasty.
Xiao Siwen nodded and said: "If the Xiazhou people rebel against the Zhou Kingdom, they will become the second Eastern Han and Northern Han Kingdom. They are more difficult to deal with than Hedong. The people of Hedong are Han people, and they will not fight against the Zhou army, but the Dangxiang people are different. I have sent envoys to lobby Li Yiyin again."
Yelu Xizhen bowed and said: "Mr. Xiao is far-sighted and has foresight."
Xiao Siwen said: When the Zhou people attacked Hedong, I advocated to rescue them with all my strength, but my purpose was to protect Youzhou. As a result, once Hedong was lost, Youzhou was immediately threatened by the Zhou army. This matter is not over yet. Youzhou is related to the fate of the country, and we must not let the Zhou people take it away.
If anything happens in Xiazhou this time, the Liao Dynasty should do its best to protect it, and move the place of confrontation with the Zhou army to the west. No matter we win or lose, it is not our place that is lost. As long as the war in the west remains undecided, Youzhou will be stable.
Over the past two years, Yelu Xizhen has been completely impressed by Xiao Siwen's strategy and insight, and has been nodding in agreement.
Seeing this, Xiao Siwen was very pleased, and then he said in a deep voice: The Khan also agreed with my proposal to do my best to keep Youzhou, and promised to send troops to the west if there is any trouble in Xiazhou. At this time, there must be no trouble in the Liao Dynasty, and you should focus on the overall situation.
Yelu Xizhen placed his hand on his chest and bowed, saying: We obey Lord Xiao and will listen to his opinion on everything.
Xiao Siwen praised them kindly, then turned to look at the two children playing. He squinted his eyes, looking very calm.
Even if the Liao emperor was a tyrannical ruler that everyone feared, what could he do? Xiao Siwen was not afraid. Yelu Jing had suspected Xiao Siwen a long time ago, but now he was increasingly afraid to act rashly against Xiao Siwen. Unless he wanted to perish together, the Liao emperor had no choice but to compromise.
First, the Liao royal family had always been intermarried with the Xiao family, and almost all the prime ministers were from the Xiao family, which had great power. If Yelu Jing dared to kill Xiao Siwen for no reason, it would be equivalent to completely losing the support of the Xiao family.
Secondly, Xiao Siwen himself also has a force. If Yelu Jing could be aware of what Xiao Siwen did, he should be clear that without Xiao Siwen's mediation, Yelu Jing would face a greater risk of change. Unless Yelu Jing wanted to completely eliminate the threat, it would not be a good idea to move against Xiao Siwen. Unfortunately, there were too many threats, so he probably didn't dare to act rashly.
Xiao Siwen just wanted to see what Yelu Jing wanted to do. Now that the emperor wanted to stabilize the situation, everyone would be more willing to talk.
Xiao Siwen closed his eyes slightly, feeling that the time was not yet ripe. In everyone's eyes, it seemed that Yelu Jing should not take all the blame now.
At this moment, a dull bang sound came from afar. Yelu Xizhen turned his head to look, wondering what the sound was. It couldn't be thunder on a sunny day.
Xiao Siwen said calmly: "It should be the palace army that is training the war horses. The Khan listened to my advice. The Zhou army has gunpowder weapons and used gunpowder cannons when attacking Youzhou, which would scare the war horses. I suggested that the Khan let the Liao army's war horses get used to the sound of gunpowder explosions to avoid confusion in battle."
Yelu Xizhen said: Lord Xiao is both civil and military, we admire him very much.
Xiao Siwen shook his head, and after a while he slowly said: I heard from Han official Fan Zhongyi that the ancient Wei Kingdom was able to defeat Shu Kingdom because Sima Yi lived longer than Zhuge Liang. As long as we hold on to Youzhou to buy time, once Guo the blacksmith dies, everything will be fine.