The Song Dynasty has been deliberate for 16 years, only to know that it is the Water Margin

Chapter 507 News, King Jin

Xingqing Mansion, Xingzhou, the capital of Baigao Daxia Kingdom.

Xingzhou is the largest city in Xixia. In the early Song Dynasty, it was Huaiyuan County and belonged to Lingzhou.

In the fourth year of Xianping, Li Jiqian, the leader of the party, captured it. In the fourth year of Tianxi, Li Deming, Li Jiqian's son, began to expand the scope and build a palace, named Xingzhou. In the second year of Xiandao, Li Deming's son Li Yuanhao was promoted to Xingqing Mansion.

In the first year of Yanzuo's reign in the Western Xia Dynasty, Li Yuanhao proclaimed himself emperor and founded the country, making Xingzhou the capital.

In the northwest, with the prosperity of Qingtang, Xingzhou also developed rapidly. After a hundred years of construction and development, it has become a pearl on the Hexi Plateau.

Although Xingzhou abandoned the Hexi Corridor trade road, it developed a trade road in the northern grassland. This trade road completely avoided the path of the Song Dynasty. Originally, the Central Plains could directly reach the Western Regions through the Hexi Corridor, but now it can only take a roundabout way from the Liao border, or take the Xixi Corridor. He Qing Tang Ancient City.

This trade route was Xixia's way of deliberately restricting the Song Dynasty. The merchants of the Song Dynasty had to travel thousands of miles, and it was also difficult, dangerous, rugged and dangerous, causing goods to be lost and people to be killed.

Although it would be safer to go through the Qingtang line, it is too far, and if you want to go beyond the Western Region and go to Europe, you should take the Hexi Corridor or the Mobei Grassland. The Hexi Corridor is closed, and the Mobei Grassland is the trade route opened by Xixia. In the Song Dynasty, it was difficult for merchants to travel, and they gradually stopped traveling to those distant places for business.

Xingzhou is now not only the largest and most prosperous city in Xixia, but also the largest and most prosperous place in the entire northwest outside the Song Dynasty.

Xingzhou is far larger than the ancient city of Qingtang, which is Xiningzhou, and its population is several times that of Qingtang. The city has dense buildings, bustling streets, noisy merchants, and numerous Buddhist temples, giving it a unique atmosphere.

At this moment, in a magnificent temple in the southwest city of Xingzhou, a procession was walking out. The procession stopped briefly after leaving the mountain gate. The leader looked back and glanced at the temple plaque, which read the following in Xixia script: Tiansi has three characters.

This Chengtian Temple is a royal temple in the Western Xia Dynasty. It is different from other temples. On weekdays, most dignitaries worship and worship, while ordinary people go to the Hebao Temple in the north to make wishes. Hebao Temple is also a large temple and an ancient temple. It was passed down from the Northern Dynasties. The last years.

Chengtian Temple was built after the founding of the Western Xia Dynasty. After Li Yuanhao's death, the Empress Dowager did not hide the autumn water in order to protect the little emperor Li Liangzuo who "reached Chenji at an early age" and "the holy life will be boundless and extended to his ancestors". In the first year of Tianyou Chuisheng's reign, tens of thousands of soldiers were recruited. It took five or six years to build the Chengtian Temple and the Chengtian Temple Tower inside. The Buddha's bones donated by monks from the Western Regions were buried under the base of the tower in gold and silver coffins. .

In the third year of Fu Sheng's succession, Wu Zang Qiu Shui placed the Tripitaka given by the Song Dynasty in the temple. After the pagoda and temple were built, he invited eminent Uighur monks to give lectures. Wu Zang Qiu Shui and the young emperor often listened impromptu. At that time, the incense was strong and there were many eminent monks, far surpassing the Huguo Temple in Liangzhou and the Reclining Buddha Temple in Ganzhou, both of which were royal temples.

At this time, the eyes of the man leading the group slowly fell from the temple plaque, and then turned around. He was tall and burly, like a solid stone, with thick eyebrows and tiger eyes, a lion nose and a wide mouth, a slight beard, and a joyless look. No worries.

He was wearing a red robe, embroidered with complex patterns, which was different from the earthy brown and cyan colors of others. At a glance, he stood out from the crowd.

"Go back!" the man said calmly.

"Yes, Prince Jin!" The people behind him responded together.

The man walked forward with his hands behind his back and came to the horse post in front of the temple. He got on a tall horse with a light yellow color and shiny hair, and then headed towards the center of the city.

After a while, the team stopped in front of a grand mansion, and then they all dismounted. The soldiers standing on the doorstep of the mansion immediately saluted and shouted: "Prince Jin!"

The man in red robe still had no expression on his face, and walked straight into the mansion. The mansion was very deep, and everyone he met along the way, whether it was guards, servants, maids or slaves, all bowed their heads and addressed him as "Prince Jin".

The man was none other than Brother Richard, the younger brother of the Western Xia Emperor Li Qianshun and known as the Military God of Great Xia.

Although his face was as calm as water at the moment, his heart was extremely complicated. Just two days ago, the border military report came that Huizhou City was lost.

He sent two reinforcements to the Xishou Baotai Military Division. The first time was the elite troops of the Sixth Squadron of the Xingqing Prefecture Imperial Guard, and the second time was a total of 5 people. But even so, Huizhou and Fu Chuan still lost it, which made him suspicious.

Who led the Song army to capture Huizhou City without any advantage?

This Song army has been in Xixia territory for some time, and it is invincible and invincible. At first, he didn't care about it, just treating it as a bandit. After all, everything must be focused on occupying Xihe River. When Xihe River is stable, he can go back and deal with it. It’s not too late to send troops.

But things are different now. This "bandit" is getting bigger and bigger, and if he continues to be raised, he may cause trouble!

But there is a saying in the art of war that if you know yourself and the enemy, you can fight a hundred battles without danger. Now that he doesn't even know who the opponent's coach is, how can he talk about defeating the enemy? It's just a joke.

When Brother Richard walked into the central hall, someone had already served goat milk tea. This is something he likes to drink, even more than wine. It is said that Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, Tian Khan Li Shimin, even loved this kind of milk tea. Li Shimin was his favorite He admires and respects people, so he also likes them.

After sitting on the chair and having a drink, Brother Richard began to look through the military intelligence and battle reports on the table. The military intelligence was roughly divided into three categories, one was the battle situation on Xihe Road, and the other was the Song Army's. Trends, and another category is the battlefield situation in the Liao Kingdom.

After reading this, he picked up a letter and read it. The letter arrived in the morning. He had already read it once. Feeling a little uneasy, he went out to Chengtian Temple to burn incense. Now he planned to read it again.

The letter was written by the Hanlin of the Liao Dynasty and Yelu Dashi, the military governor of the Liao Xingjun. It was a letter asking for help. It described the success and failure and elaborated on the various impacts of the fall of Liao Ruo on Xixia. I wanted him to explain it to the Xixia Emperor. In response to this incident, reinforcements were sent to rescue Liao.

After reading the letter, Brother Richard put it down gently, his face still expressionless. What Yelu Dashi said was reasonable, but the soldiers could not be sent, and he would not persuade Li Qianshun. The matter would be over with him.

Although the demise of the Liao Kingdom had a huge impact on Xixia, Xixia could not go to support it because... Judging from the situation on the Liao battlefield, no matter how much support was given, even if Xixia poured out its entire country's efforts, it might not be possible to save Liao Huo.

Without him, the Liao Dynasty has been rotten to the core, and the Jin Kingdom is really too strong. If Zhao and Song take advantage of it, once Xixia steps in, it will not be able to save the Liao Dynasty, but it will be like being stuck in a quagmire, and it will be difficult to get out. come out.

Thinking that the glory of the Liao Empire could no longer be continued, and that the centuries-old kingdom was about to be cut off, Richard was deeply saddened. Back then, it was as powerful as the Khitan, and the country was so powerful and majestic. In a few months, everything will be history.

He picked up Yelu Dashi's letter again, read it again, tore it into pieces gently, threw it on the ground, then leaned on the chair, closed his eyes and rested.

After a while, hurried footsteps were heard outside, and then the voice of the guard in front of the door sounded: "Prince Jin, the people of Beifeng Hall want to see you."

Brother Richard opened his eyes, a hint of unnoticeable joy flashed across his expression, and said, "Call in."

After a few breaths, a man dressed as a Han Chinese was brought into the hall.

"The secret agent of Beifeng Hall, Xi Fengzhen, pays homage to His Highness King Jin!" the man saluted.

Brother Richard looked at this detailed seal. It was one of the spies he had sent to the Song Dynasty a few days ago. Since he could not find out the identity of the leader of the Song army for a long time, he reported to Li Qianshun and asked to borrow it. People from Beifeng Hall went to Song Dynasty to inquire.

Li Ganshun agreed naturally, and then asked Beifeng Hall to send eight senior spies to him. Then he quietly sent these eight spies across the border, waiting for them to come back after inquiring about the news.

And this Xi Fengzhen was the first Beefeng Hall spy to come back.

"But what did you hear?" Brother Richard didn't talk nonsense and went straight into the tunnel.

Xi Fengzhen said hurriedly: "His Royal Highness, Prince Jin, my subordinates did inquire about some information and felt that the matter was important, so they hurriedly came back to report it." "Do you know who the commander of the Song army is?" Brother Richard held the case with both hands. He leaned forward slightly.

"Your Majesty, I'm not sure who the commander is, but my subordinates have found out where this soldier comes from."

Brother Richard frowned when he heard this: "What do you mean? Is this Song army any different from the Zhao Song Western Army?"

"That's right, Your Majesty, this army is not the Western Army of the Song Dynasty!" Xi Fengzhen said.

"It's not the Western Army?" Brother Richard frowned, "If it's not the Western Army, where did it come from?"

Xi Fengzhen reached out and wiped his cheek. He also felt that what he heard was a bit strange, but he couldn't hide it, so he spoke word by word.

When Brother Richard listened to his story, his expression that had remained unchanged gradually became solemn, and finally his face became as gloomy as water.

When Xi Fengzhen finished speaking, he did not speak. Instead, he stood up and walked in circles on the ground. It took a long time before he slowly spoke.

"You mean... the King of Qin of the Song Dynasty rebelled? These soldiers are all the troops of the King of Qin Zhao Tong? And the current leader of the Song army is most likely Zhao Tong?"

Xi Fengzhen couldn't help but sweat broke out on his forehead when he heard this. He didn't say that, he just said some things he had found out, and what Brother Richard said now was all his own speculation.

"Your Majesty, the Emperor of the Song Dynasty just ordered to arrest the King of Qin, Zhao Yu, and Zhao Yu ran away to Longyou. He didn't say anything about rebellion or not."

"That's a rebellion!" Brother Richard said calmly, thinking that once the prince and his people came to the border, and the emperor ordered the officials from all over the country to arrest him, what if this wasn't a rebellion?

"Ah..." Xi Fengzhen scratched his head and said: "Your Majesty, I only know that this Song army belongs to the Qin King Zhao Tao, but I am not sure that he is the commander-in-chief of the army!"

The corners of Brother Richard's mouth moved, and his tiger eyes narrowed slightly: "He is so powerful that he can conquer so many cities in Daxia, which is something ordinary generals cannot do, and he often uses tricks, including fire and water attacks, but that's not the case. Judging from this person’s style, the head coach of this Song army is most likely Zhao Tao!”

Xi Fengzhen didn't dare to say anything after hearing this. He just lowered his head and waited for Brother Richard's instructions.

Brother Richard thought for a while and said, "You go back to Beifeng Hall to report, and I will record your merits for you."

Xi Fengzhen looked happy when he heard this. He bowed and left. Brother Richard thought for a moment and said to the guard next to him: "Change and enter the palace!"

His residence was very close to the Xixia Palace. Not long after he went out and mounted his horse, he arrived in front of the palace, and then announced his entry. It was not until evening that he came out with a heavy heart.

Then he returned home. It was already dinner time, but he seemed to be in no mood to eat, so he still returned to the nave and sat on a chair to meditate.

At this moment, a delicate woman's voice came from outside: "Your Majesty, why don't you go to have a meal? Why are you sitting here in this hall?"

Brother Richard looked up and saw that it was Princess Feng Miaoyin. He couldn't help but shook his head and said: "The military situation is urgent, how can I still be in the mood to eat."

Feng Miaoyin walked in with a graceful look, walked towards Brother Richard with lotus steps, and said with a smile: "What kind of military situation can stump my Great Xia Military God?"

Brother Richard smiled bitterly when he heard this and said: "The Military God of Great Xia? Now that the Military God of the Song Dynasty is here, and even the military commander of Xishou Baotai has been lost in the city, is it difficult to say that?"

"The military god of the Song Dynasty?" Feng Miaoyin thought for a while and said in a pleasant voice: "But the King of Qin Zhao Tao, who is famous in the Jiangnan area of ​​the Central Plains?"

Brother Richard nodded and said: "It is this person. I don't know why this person had a falling out with the Emperor of the Song Dynasty, and ran away to Longyou in the Qingtang Dynasty. I don't know what methods he used, but he actually gathered a group of people and killed him from the fortress mountain." We have come here, and now we have captured two military divisions in a row, which is a sign of trouble."

"It turns out it's really him!" Feng Miaoyin said: "The matter about Yuan Guo of the Yuan family before..."

"It all came from this person, and Li Changshuo was also instigated by him to rebel." Brother Richard said.

"Your Majesty, I heard..." Feng Miaoyin said with a sweet smile: "Yuan Jing secretly ran away to Huizhou a while ago. I wonder if he went to see Zhao Tao."

"Concubine Jing?" Brother Richard was stunned when he heard this: "Where did you know about this?"

Feng Miaoyin raised her slender eyebrows and said, "Of course it's the news from the master's sect."

Brother Richard's expression became complicated: "Why did Concubine Jing go to see this Zhao Tao? Could it be that she still wants to redeem Yuan Guo? That Yuan Guo is greedy for life and afraid of death, and is as timid as a mouse, so what's the use of redeeming him!"

Feng Miaoyin shook her head slightly: "It shouldn't be because of the Yuan Guo. It is said that Yuan Ji, the first genius of the Yuan family, also fell into the hands of the other party. Yuan Jing should have left for Yuan Ji, fearing that the head of the Yuan family would find her. I begged her to rescue Yuanji, so she ran over secretly."

"Does your Majesty know about this?" Brother Richard frowned.

"Your Majesty... I'm afraid you don't know." Feng Miaoyin walked up behind Brother Richard, stretched out a pair of spring onion-like catkins, and gently squeezed his shoulders: "My lord, do you think that the King of Qin in the Song Dynasty, Zhao Yu, has always been... It is said that Yuan Jing is young, handsome and has an unparalleled temperament. How can he dare to tell His Majesty that Yuan Jing secretly went to meet such a person? Your Majesty would not be angry if He knew about it?"

Brother Richard snorted when he heard this: "What the hell are you talking about!"

Feng Miaoyin smiled and said, "I'm just telling the truth."

Brother Richard remained silent, leaned his head back, and closed his eyes slightly.

Then Feng Miaoyin said again: "Your Majesty, I am going back to my master's house in two days."

"What are you going to do when you return to the master's sect? I don't care about the grievances between your Zizi sect and the Palace of Birds. How you fight in private is your own business, but it must not affect the national military affairs!"

"Your Majesty, how can I dare to influence military and national affairs? It's just that Master called me back. I don't know if I have anything to explain. I estimate that I will be able to turn around in just three or two days."

"Your master..." Brother Richard stopped mid-sentence.

"Your Majesty, aren't you afraid that I will also meet young and handsome men?" Feng Miaoyin said with a sweet smile.

"Hmph, what am I afraid of!" Brother Richard suddenly stood up after hearing this, picked up Feng Miaoyin from the waist, and walked towards the back of the lobby...

(End of this chapter)