Outlaws of the Marsh

Chapter 851

...

Did the Xixia court know that the Chinese army passed through the Hengshan area?
know.

In fact, the Xixia court knew immediately that the Chinese army was attacking the Hengshan area.

But in this regard, the Xixia court has nothing to do - Xia Jun has already fought with Ren Dejing's rebels, and there is no way to withdraw. Taking a step back, even if Xia Jun didn't fight with Ren Dejing's rebels, With Ren Dejing's rebels almost reaching the capital, Xia Jun didn't dare to retreat, because that would mean a big defeat, and it might destroy Xixia's last hope.

Therefore, the Xixia court could only watch as a large number of Chinese troops passed through the Hengshan area, and then completely cut off the connection between the Hengshan area and Xixia.

The unique geographical environment of Hengshan makes it not only the land dividing line between China and Xia (including the former Song and Xia countries), but also the "destiny dividing line" between the two countries.

Since Emperor Zhenzong of Song Dynasty "conferred Deming together" with Hengshan and Lingxia two prefectures, Dangxiang talents really had the foundation of building a country.

It can be said that without Hengshan, there would be no Xixia country.

Conversely, the reason why the original Song Dynasty could not destroy Xixia was because Xixia had the Hengshan area-in terms of offense, the Song army without the Hengshan area was extremely passive. After losing Hengshan, a natural front-line supply base, the Song army attacked During the Western Xia Dynasty, the people could only rely on the peasants to carry food across the seven hundred miles of the vast sea for supplies. Once the logistics support was not available, the Song army had no choice but to retreat without a fight.

Song Zhezong once said, "If you get Hengshan and Tiandu, it will be a great achievement. The imperial court is often trapped by Westerners. If you go out of the world, you will enter the desert, seven or eight times, and even Lingzhou. There is no water and grass, and there is no human habitation. Before we can see the enemy, our division is already trapped. Although the Westerners came, although they were already wading through the sand, they were in their territory. In my territory, there must be something to gain, so the Westerners often make profits."

From the words of Song Zhezong, it is not difficult to see that Xixia, which owns the Hengshan area, can be said to be basically invincible against the Song Dynasty.

Today, Dazhong easily obtained the Hengshan area that the Song Dynasty had managed for more than ten years, which made Xixia completely lose its geographical advantage and strategic initiative. Just work harder, and you can enter Xingqing Mansion.

But just at this time, the Chinese army stopped advancing and assumed a posture of "sitting on the mountain and watching the tiger fight".

This caused Xia Jun and Ren Dejing's rebels, who were supposed to be fighting fiercely, to gradually stop the fierce fighting.

Later, Li Renxiao and Ren Dejing sent envoys to Hengshan to meet Wu Jie. They wanted to see Wu Jie. To be precise, they wanted to see Li Yan behind Wu Jie. What did they mean?
It was Li Renxiao who sent envoys first, and he sent his important minister Li Renli to visit Wu Jie.

Although this Li Renli is a member of the party, he is proficient in both Tibetan and Chinese characters, has talent, and is good at singing. He seems to be a famous Confucianist in the world.

Moreover, in the early years, when Li Renli served as the military supervisor in Weizhou, he received money from officials and people privately, and was reprimanded by his brother Li Renzhong's suicide note. (Even until he died), there was no grain storage in his family anymore.

This shows that Li Renli's character is extremely high.

Such a person has always walked rightly, behaved well, and is eloquent in arguing. The key is not to be afraid of life and death.

And he came here just to argue with Wu Jie why Dazhong wanted to join the alliance, why did he take advantage of Xixia's weakness to attack Xixia?
Therefore, as soon as he saw Wu Jie, Li Renli took out the oath of the two countries and read generously: "Emperor Dazhong would like to write a letter to his younger brother Emperor Daxia: We will abide by the agreement and abide by the happy alliance. Take Hengshan-Tian The land west of the capital (including the Hengshan area) was sent to my brother, and the third division sent people to move it to Xingzhou for delivery. The army along the border guarded the border; the households in the two places were not allowed to invade each other; Take them in. As for the crops on the Long Mu, do not harass them from the north to the south. The cities along the borders of the two dynasties still remained, and moats and fortifications were built, and everything was as usual. We must be united, and the common people have a long history. Since then, the security of the Li and the common people, the guarding of the frontier, the quality of the heaven and the earth gods, and the report to the ancestral temple and the country, the children and grandchildren guard together, and pass it on endlessly. With the alliance of Chongqing, we cannot enjoy the country, which is a clear lesson from heaven , should be killed together."

After reading, Li Renli put away the oath, and said: "Emperor Shengwen (Li Qianshun) of our country replied: "Although I am not talented, if I dare to abide by this covenant, I will tell the world, and my descendants will have you." In this alliance, the gods are dead." Emperor Shengwen of the Later Kingdom sent Princess Yinchuan, Xining and Huining together with [-] cattle and horses, [-] Tan sheepskins, [-] porcelains, and [-] catties of top-quality Helan stones to express his gratitude to Dazhong His Majesty the Emperor is merciful."

Seeing that Wu Jie was rendered speechless by his words, Li Renli raised his voice and said: "The two dynasties agreed. In the past ten years, the noble dynasty suddenly overstepped the alliance and came to the border with soldiers. Did you ever fear the sky? It has been violated since ancient times. I swear, the country will not last long. Now that there are rebellions in our dynasty, His Majesty the Emperor of our country is working day and night, and he is exhausted. His Majesty the Emperor of your dynasty is an elder. He should remember the love of the ancestors and the righteousness of the long-term peace of neighboring countries. , it is the demeanor of a great country. But today, you have raised your troops to the border and seized the people's land, what is the proper way?"

After quietly listening to Li Renli's accusation, Wu Jie took out the "personal letter" written by Li Renxiao to Li Yan and pushed it in front of Li Renli, saying, "King Shu, take a look at this letter."

Feeling puzzled, Li Renli picked up the "personal letter" written by Li Renxiao to Li Yan, and slowly read it.

The more I read, the more shocked Li Renli was!

Before finishing reading, Li Renli pressed the letter on the table and said, "Fake, how could my emperor write such a letter!"

Wu Jie said leisurely: "So, the handwriting on this letter is not Lord Xia's? Isn't the jade seal on it Lord Xia's private seal?"

Li Renli's character is so high that he couldn't do it at all, and he refused to admit that it was Li Renxiao's handwriting. He could only falter and say: "It looks like it, but it's not perfect..."

Wu Jie interrupted Li Renli and said, "Why, does King Shu still think that this letter was forged by my emperor?"

This matter can be big or small, Li Renli dare not talk nonsense, he can only say very euphemistically: "Maybe... Maybe it's the trick of that traitor Ren Dejing!"

Wu Jie said: "Then Li Zhizhong of your country is also a fake? He handed over this letter to my emperor himself."

Li Renli is a gentleman.

What a gentleman is good at is to argue with reason, not to have no bottom line compared with hooligans.

Therefore, facing Li Yan's hooligan methods, Li Renli couldn't help being a little speechless, and said, "Maybe...maybe Li Zhizhong and Ren Dejing were in collusion, or Ren Dejing's people secretly transferred the package..."

Wu Jie said leisurely: "Is it possible that this letter of appeal for help is what Lord Xia meant? After all, Lord Xia is only 12 years old. Facing so many troubles that he can't handle, it's not wrong for him to choose to give up Xixia in exchange for a lifetime of wealth." no way."

"This……"

Now, Li Renli is not sure whether this "personal letter" was written by Li Renxiao. After all, when Li Renxiao wrote this letter, Li Renli was not with Li Renxiao.

In the end, Li Renli could only say: "Then please ask Marshal Wu to withdraw from the Hengshan area first, and when our Great Xia finds out about this matter, we will definitely give your country an explanation."

Wu Jie didn't even think about it and said: "I'm sorry, a certain family is a soldier, and a soldier takes obeying orders as his bounden duty. The order received by a certain family is to eliminate the rebels in the Hengshan area, and then go west to take over Xixia. There is no support from my emperor and the court." order, a certain family vows to carry out the previous order to the end!"

"You guys don't want to..."

Li Renli wanted to say: "Don't bully others too much!"

Fortunately, Li Renli saw that Wu Jie's face was sinking in time, and he did not hide his killing intent. Moreover, the deputy envoy also gave Li Renli a hand at the critical moment, and at the same time whispered in Li Renli's ear: " This matter was decided by the Dazhong court, how could Wu Jie, a general fighting on the front line, dare to listen to our Western Xia's rash withdrawal? Therefore, this matter still needs to be discussed in the long term."

Li Renli felt that what the deputy envoy said made sense, so he put down the word "farewell" and left.

One day later, the envoy sent by Ren Dejing, Ren Decong, Ren Dejing's younger brother, former Xixia Taiwei, also arrived at Wu Jie's place.

After Ren Dicong came, he said flatteringly, "Thank you to the imperial court for supporting our Ren family in recovering Xixia, but... our Ren family dare not bother the court's military horses. Our Ren family can solve the Xixia issue by ourselves. The family will present themselves to the imperial court and bring the whole summer to submit to the imperial court, so please invite the marshal to return to the imperial court."

Wu Jie didn't talk nonsense, and directly showed Ren Decong the "personal letter" written by Li Renxiao to Li Yan.

After seeing it, Ren Decong was also surprised, and said, "No...it's unlikely, right?"

Wu Jie glanced at Ren Decong, and said, "Your Ren family is about to wipe out the Li family. Isn't it strange that Lord Xia made such a decision?"

Hearing what Wu Jie said, Ren Decong was speechless!
Thinking about it, their Ren family has already led an army of 30 to suppress the border. It is quite normal for Li Renxiao to exchange a Xixia who is about to become someone else in exchange for the wealth of the Li family.

After thinking about these things, Ren Decong was a little worried: "Then... what is the court going to do?"

Wu Jie put on a serious face, and said: "Your Ren family can inquire about the imperial court's plans!"

Ren Decong heard the words, and quickly said: "Yes, yes, yes..."

While speaking, Ren Decong took out a list of gifts from his cuff, unfolded it and pushed it in front of Wu Jie, and said: "Our Ren family naturally didn't have the guts to inquire about the imperial court's plans, but please Marshal, considering that everyone is Han Chinese. Tell our Ren family a few words, and let our Ren family avoid detours."

The first item on this gift list is ten beautiful maidservants.

It can be seen from this that Ren Dejing and others inquired about Wu Jie's hobbies very clearly.

Below the ten maidservants are: Gold Thousand Ingots (50 taels per ingot), Silver Ten Thousand Ingots, Helan Stone Thousand Jin, etc...

Glancing at the long list of gifts, Wu Jie waved his hand, and then, except for a few of Wu Jie's cronies, everyone else left Wu Jie's tent in the Chinese army.

After all non-Wu Jie's cronies had left Wu Jie's tent in the Chinese army, Wu Jie picked up the gift list Ren Decong gave him and slowly looked at it, and said while reading: "Ren Guoxiang and Ren Taiwei are so polite. .”

Seeing that Wu Jie drove out all the irrelevant people, and picked up the gift list to look carefully, and seeing the greedy look on Wu Jie's face, how could Ren Decong not know that he succeeded in bribing Wu Jie?
Ren Decong said with a smile: "Marshal is a first-class hero in the world. Our Ren family has always wanted to make friends with Marshal. These are just small gifts. We will have a bright future."

Wu Jie heard the words, put down the list of gifts, and said: "Since Ren Guoxiang and Ren Taiwei are so sincere, then a certain family will be handed over to the Ren family."

Ren Decong beat the snake and went up with the stick: "I also ask the marshal to give us some advice for our Ren family."

This time Wu Jie changed his previous attitude and said, "Okay, what do you want to know?"

Ren Decong hurriedly asked: "What does the imperial court mean?"

Wu Jie hesitated for a moment, then said: "The minimum strategic goal is to occupy the Hengshan area."

Ren Decong heard the words and said anxiously: "Your Majesty promised my elder brother that Xixia will be guarded by my elder brother!"

Wu Jie smiled slightly and said, "Oh? Then why did the officials agree to your elder brother?"

"This……"

Ren Decong was a little speechless.

Dazhong supported Ren Dejing's rebellion against Xixia. After the incident, Ren Dejing led Xixia to surrender to Dazhong, and then the Ren family replaced Dazhong to guard Xixia. It was all proposed by Ren Dejing. Dazhong just didn't object, and Li Yan accepted Ren Dejing's daughter, made Ren Dejing's daughter a concubine, and gave Ren Dejing a generous gift in return. If it is true, Dazhong never really promised Ren Dejing from the beginning to the end. What are you respecting?

So, how do you ask Ren Decong to answer Wu Jie's question?
but--

Ren Decong is not incompetent.

He quickly said: "Yes, the imperial court did not promise anything to my elder brother, but it did not object to the conditions proposed by my elder brother, and His Majesty made my elder brother's daughter a concubine, and rewarded my elder brother heavily. I acquiesced to what my elder brother proposed, of course, the court can also not recognize these things, the prestige accumulated by His Majesty over the past decades..."

Wu Jie scolded: "Bold!"

Wu Jie crawled out from the pile of dead people, and the murderous aura on his body was not fake at all. Therefore, his retort not only made Ren Decong swallow back what he said, but also made Ren Decong's heart tremble!
Ren Decong quickly calmed down, and then explained: "Marshal, don't blame me. I dare not slander Your Majesty with 1 courage. In fact, our Ren family has already bet the lives of hundreds of members of our family for this matter. Therefore, I have some I am impatient, so I am a little speechless."

After listening to Ren Decong's explanation, Wu Jie's complexion improved a little, and then he said: "Accordingly, a certain family is only in charge of fighting. It is inconvenient for me to speak about the imperial court and your Ren family, but since we are friends, I will A few words of advice for you guys."

Ren Decong hurriedly said: "Marshal, please tell me, the Ren family will never forget their kindness!"

Wu Jie was silent for a while, and said: "First of all, a certain family can tell you clearly that regardless of the others, the Hengshan area will definitely be taken back by the imperial court. I won't say the reason, but you can definitely figure it out."

This is not difficult to figure out.

Only by occupying the Hengshan area can Dazhong threaten Xixia at any time, so that Xixia dare not fight as before, fight when they want to, make peace when they want to, and refuse to accept the control of the heaven.

Taking a step back, even if Dazhong really lets the Ren family guard Xixia for generations, the Hengshan area will never be given to the Ren family. Otherwise, why would Dazhong support the Ren family's rebellion and continue to support the Li family?
In fact, before Ren Decong came to see Wu Jie, Ren Dejing and others had already analyzed this point.

Furthermore, and most practically, when have you ever seen a jackal spit out the meat that has been eaten in its stomach?In the same way, Dazhong took back the crucial Hengshan area with great difficulty, how could it be possible to spit out the Hengshan area again?
Therefore, the purpose of Ren Decong's visit this time is not to return to the Hengshan area, but to inquire about Dazhong's goal, to find out whether Dazhong will fulfill his previous promise, that is, let the Ren family guard Xixia?
……

(End of this chapter)