I studied in modern times

Chapter 634: The infection chain of Longqiu Layman

The imperial court meeting of the Song Dynasty was being held.

At the foot of Maxian Mountain, the fight between Song and Xia had entered a white-hot stage.

Liang Yibu stood on the hill, looking at the bloody city under the setting sun.

He let out a breath.

The siege has lasted for more than a month!

But the city still stands at the foot of Maxian Mountain, firmly strangling the throat of his army's advance!

Tens of thousands of lives were lost in the ravines of Dingxi City.

However, the city wall remained intact, with only a few gaps.

Even the gap was quickly filled by the southern barbarian defenders.

Even more terrible was that the reinforcements from the Southern Barbarians Xihe had already set up camp on the other side of Maxian Mountain, watching his army with a covetous eye. They sent troops from Fanchuan Village and Kangu Village and constantly harassed his troops.

As a result, the hundred-mile area of ​​Maxian Mountain has become purgatory.

Liang Yibu wanted to withdraw his troops, but he was in a difficult situation and could only bite the bullet and fight with the southern barbarians.

Because he cannot afford the political cost of withdrawing his troops.

He pushed for this war against all odds, and one could even say that he did it on his own will.

Once he withdraws his troops under the current circumstances, it will be the best excuse for the powerful people in Xingqing Prefecture to attack him.

Losing troops and generals, returning without success, being mediocre and doing nothing, bringing disaster to the country and the people...

Hats will be put on his head.

"Prime Minister, the various tribes in Youzhou have sent envoys to apologize..." A confidant came to Liang Yibu and reported in a low voice.

Liang Yibu frowned and asked, "Do they have any explanation?"

The confidant lowered his head and said, "I have reported this to the Prime Minister. The tribes said that the reason for this setback was that the Shizhou army was defeated, which allowed the southern barbarians to take advantage of the flank. In addition, the son-in-law Duwei was ineffective in using the troops, and was hesitant and indecisive..."

Liang Yibu became annoyed when he heard this and cursed: "Youzhou is a rebellious state, and you are bullying me, a three-year-old child?"

"The responsibility lies with Shizhou and the Prince Consort. Don't they have any responsibility at all?!"

As he said this, he could not help but draw out the precious sword in his hand, fiercely thrust it into the ground beneath his feet, and said, "Sooner or later, I will kill this traitor!"

But even he knew that this was just impotent rage.

The various tribes of Youzhou had close relations with the Weiming family.

When Taizu (Li Jiqian) was exiled to Lujinze, these guys had already married Taizu.

The ancestors of many guys married their daughters to Taizu.

They also made great contributions in Taizu's rebellion against the Song Dynasty.

During the reign of Emperor Jingzong, it was still these families that supported him in establishing the country.

It is no exaggeration to say that these Youzhou nobles had already suffered all the hardships when their ancestors followed Taizu and Jingzong to rebel against the Song Dynasty.

It would not be easy to touch them even if Jingzong was still alive.

Not to mention anything else, the Su Yi family openly regarded themselves as the leaders of the Suwei Nine Surnames Alliance and claimed to be the descendants of the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty. Did anyone care?

I dare not and cannot manage it at all!

Because, if they really push me to the limit, they will tell me that I will go to Bianliang if they don’t want me to stay here!

Therefore, not only can we not force them, we can only tolerate them.

Liang Yibu knew all this very well, so after venting his anger, he calmed down and turned to his confidant and said, "Go tell the envoy from Youzhou that I already know it!"

"The defeat in Youzhou is not their fault. The blame lies entirely with the Prince Consort!"

Shizhou Military Supervisor Liang Yixing was his cousin, one of the few people in the Liang family who could command the military, and his staunch supporter.

Of course, no punishment can be imposed.

Therefore, they could only put all the blame on the defeated general Zhajueweiming and use his tribe to take the blame.

It just so happened that after the Ganzhou soldiers who were fighting for their reputation were defeated, nearly two thousand of them fled to Weizhou and Hongzhou.

Liang Yibu was not polite and arrested all the Ganzhou soldiers and escorted them to Nanmuhui.

This is to swallow them up under the guise of punishment.

After loosening his clothes, Liang Yibu asked, "Is there any news in Xingqing Prefecture recently?"

The confidant bowed his head and said, "The Queen Mother has been in close contact with the Yu Zang family recently..."

"Yu Zang Hua Ma's second son, Yu Zang Shunan, often enters the palace..."

Liang Yibu bit his lip, as if he remembered something.

After a long while, he heaved a sigh of relief and said to his confidant, "Ask someone to remind the Queen Mother..."

"Don't let everyone know about it, or else Emperor Huizong will be embarrassed!"

It is no news that the Queen Mother of the Dabai Gao Kingdom likes to keep gigolos and collect handsome men.

Queen Mother Mo Zang of the Mo Zang family was killed by her lover while having an affair.

When the late empress dowager was alive, she kept more than a dozen male lovers and even flirted with them in front of Huizong, which made Huizong very angry and the mother and son became enemies.

It’s no big deal to have another queen mother who keeps a gigolo now.

What's more, this queen mother is his sister!
Moreover, she was only in her twenties, and it was indeed hard for her to live alone in an empty house. Liang Yibu could understand that.

He even thought that it would be a good thing for his sister to have more male lovers in the palace.

As long as they don't interfere with his administration, he is even willing to help choose a lover!
However, they had no idea that undercurrents had already been surging in Xingqing Prefecture.

And his sister is not keeping a lover at all!

……

Under the same sunset, Jialushai, Hedong.

The Western Xia delegation, led by Weiming Moduo, filed in through the gate of the fortress.

On the wall of the village, the flags of the Song army fluttered in the wind.

Weiming Moduo raised his head, took a look, and sighed in his heart.

Last year, the old emperor of Nanman passed away. He was ordered by the late empress dowager and Huizong (Li Bingchang) to go to Bianliang, the capital of Nanman, as a consolation envoy and reached a peace agreement between the two countries.

However, after a few years, he came to the territory of Nanman again.

But this time, he came to make peace!
This made him feel somewhat depressed.

But there is no way!
Weiming Moduo recalled what the Queen Mother had said to him a few days ago when she urgently summoned him and appointed him as an envoy.

"The Prime Minister has been stationed at Maxian Mountain, but has not been able to break through. Instead, he has suffered heavy losses... The reinforcements from the Southern Barbarians are still coming in continuously..."

"The southern barbarians in Shaanxi and Hedong have also freed up their hands..."

"The Great White Gao Kingdom is in imminent danger!"

"Your responsibility is heavy!"

Thinking about the Queen Mother holding the little Wu Zu behind the curtain and the things she entrusted to him.

Weiming Moduo raised his head.

He knows that he has a heavy responsibility!
No matter what, he must complete his mission, reach a peace agreement with the Nanman, and allow the Great Baigao Kingdom to end this meaningless war in a dignified manner!

Yes!

Now many people in Xingqing Prefecture feel that this war is meaningless.

As soon as the war broke out, the Nanman people closed all their trading markets and banned the import and sale of green salt into the Nanman people.

The goods that were allowed to be sold to the southern barbarians last year can only be piled up in Xingqing Prefecture and Xiazhou now. If the war can be won, then everything will be fine.

But now, the army is in trouble, and has even suffered repeated setbacks and heavy losses on all fronts.

Even in the left wing, more than a dozen villages were burned down and tens of thousands of acres of wheat were destroyed.

Not only can business not be done, wars cannot be won, but losses will also be incurred.

In the eyes of many people, this is boring and meaningless.

It would be better to negotiate peace, go back to the past, do business as usual, and trade as usual.

Of course, to be sure.

The Queen Mother of Xingqing Prefecture not only sent him to Nanman Hedong, but also took advantage of the opportunity of Hedong's withdrawal from the Kuye River Basin and reopening Ningxing and the city to conduct surveys and negotiations under the banner of "negotiation and redemption of the son-in-law's reputation".

At the same time, people were also sent to Nanjing, the capital of Liao.

Notify Tian Huairong, who was sent as an envoy to the Liao Kingdom ten months ago, and order him to represent the Dabai Gao Kingdom to ask for help from the Liao Lord, requesting the Liao Lord to intervene and mediate the war!

"Although the empress dowager is young, she is as wise as the late empress dowager!" Weiming Moduo sighed in his heart when he thought of this.

"With the Empress Dowager's planning, I think Gao Nation might be able to gain some benefits from this negotiation!"

As a result, Weiming Moduo's spirit was lifted. He looked at the officials from Nanman who came to greet him and straightened his chest!
Yes!
Now the Southern Barbarians and the Northern Tartars have close relations.

The monarchs of the two countries, one called the other great-uncle, and the other called the other nephew.

Even the crown prince of the Northern Barbarians took an active part in it, calling the young Southern Barbarian emperor "Royal brother" and saying that he would "take the Royal brother as an example". He often took out his homework and sent it to the Southern Barbarians, and the Southern Barbarian emperor was not shy about it, calling him "Royal brother" and "my brother" all the time, and was extremely affectionate.

But are the Southern Barbarians and Northern Tartars really allies?
not necessarily!

They are truly allies, and there is truly a brotherly love between us.

Then the two countries will not have heavy military concentrations piled up on the border.

These armies have never been mobilized at any time.

Whether in the past, when the five southern barbarians attacked Xia, or now, when the northern barbarians are attacking Goryeo.

The number of soldiers and horses piled up on the border has only been symbolically reduced by a thousand this year!

However, the troops gathered by the two countries numbered in the hundreds of thousands!
The Qin-Jin Brotherly Alliance?

Is there such a brotherly alliance between Qin and Jin?
Ha ha!

Even if it was a real alliance between Qin and Jin, didn't they end up turning against each other in history?
Therefore, the Queen Mother of Xingqing Prefecture judged that after seeing the decline of the Great Baigao Kingdom on the battlefield, the Northern Tartars would definitely intervene and would definitely step in to mediate!

As long as the Northern Tartars help, the Great Baigao Kingdom will be able to withdraw from this war with dignity no matter what happens.

Maybe, we can take advantage of the Northern Barbarians and gain some advantage.

If you can get something at the negotiating table that you can't get on the battlefield.

Weiming Moduo raised his lips, looked at those southern barbarian officials, and became more confident.

Even a little arrogant!

"Following the orders of the Queen Mother of Daxia, the foreign minister Weiming Moduo has come to see Prime Minister Lu, the Governor of Hedong of the Great Song Dynasty!" He rode on his horse with a proud look on his face and spoke to those officials, with no intention of dismounting at all.

The reason why Weiming Moduo made this choice was because he saw through the bad nature of the southern barbarian officials - they were afraid of causing trouble, afraid of surprising friendly countries and being punished by the court.

Therefore, when he was on diplomatic missions to the Southern Barbarians in the past, the officials who greeted him would flatter him no matter what their attitude was.

No one dared to offend him for fear of causing a diplomatic crisis.

Unfortunately, Weiming Moduo chose the wrong target this time.

What he met was Lu Huiqing, who was able to fight with Han Jiang while making Zeng Bu, Zhang Dun, Lu Gongzhu and others speechless in the city of Bianjing.

When Lu Huiqing heard the report from the people below, his eyebrows immediately raised, and his thin face showed murderous intent. At the same time, he waved his hands habitually: "Dangxiang thieves, are you bullying me?!"

It's good enough that he doesn't bully others.

"Tell the people below that unless Envoy Xia dismounts and apologizes to our officials, they will be left where they are!"

"Yes!" Upon hearing this, the people around him responded loudly and left.

"In addition..." Lu Huiqing raised his hand and stopped the person who was about to pass on the message: "Who is going to welcome the Western envoy today?"

"It's Li Jiyi from the Enxiang family..."

Lu Huiqing frowned immediately: "Are you talking about Li Sihe?"

"Yes……"

Lu Huiqing thought about it and said helplessly: "Send this beast outside Jialu Village to inspect the mountains and rivers for ten days. He cannot return without permission!"

"promise!"

He originally wanted to catch this ballless guy and give him a beating with a stick.

But there is no way!
The person who committed the crime was his relative, to be precise, his cousin-in-law Li Kui.

Lu Huiqing's current wife is his former colleague whom he married as a second wife, the daughter of Huang Lu, the current prefect of Yingchang Prefecture.

His wife is only in her twenties this year. Lu Huiqing was so happy to have this beautiful wife in his middle age that he held her in his hands for fear of dropping her, and held her in his mouth for fear of melting her.

If people knew that he, Lu Jifu, could be so compassionate and gentle to women, they would probably laugh their heads off.

Well, that’s the truth!

"Alas..." Watching the official go off to deliver the message, Lu Huiqing also sighed: "I regret that I believed Li Bangzhi's lies!"

In the fifth year of Yuanfeng, his first wife passed away, and Li Qingchen came to act as a matchmaker for him, introducing him to the daughter of Huang Lu.

At first, he was quite proud of her because the girl from the Huang family was pretty, well-educated, and her ancestral home was also in Fujian.

But in the past few years, he has been exploited by others.

It was not until this year that he was shocked to realize that the wife he married had a deep family background!

Back then, his Taishan Huang Lu, like him, lost his wife in middle age, and then married Shen Cunzhong's daughter with the help of Cai Chizheng.

Before Shen Cunzhong's daughter married Huang Lu, she was brought up by his second wife, Zhang, who taught her by example.

After she got married, Huang Lu's daughter happened to be young, so she was brought up and taken care of by him.

Shen Cunzhong's wife, Zhang, is now very famous in the city of Bianjing.

She is very good at controlling her husband, and even the emperor and the two palaces know it.

In fact, the government's method of restraining and controlling Shen Cun Zhong was to issue an edict to his wife Zhang, ordering her to take good care of Shen Cun Zhong, not to ask him to work overtime, and certainly not to let him stay out overnight.

Zhang was also commended by the government many times for her ability to control her husband, and now her rank has been raised to that of a county lady!

This time, Shen Cunzhong became completely famous.

People gave him the nickname, Shen Longqiu - this is an allusion to Su Shi. When Su Shi was in Huangzhou, he met Chen Xu, the son of the former ruling Chen Xiliang. Chen Xu called himself Longqiu Jushi, and was famous in Huangzhou for being henpecked.

Su Shi has a poem that says: The hermit Longqiu is also pitiful, talking about emptiness and staying awake all night; suddenly he hears the roar of a lion from Hedong, and his walking stick falls from his hand, feeling at a loss!
From then on, the four words "Mr. Longqiu" were tied to henpeckedness!
Thinking of Shen Kuo's name Shen Longqiu, Lu Huiqing patted his chest and said, "Fortunately, the matter between me and my virtuous wife is not for outsiders to know!"

Just as I was feeling thankful, a little boy with pigtails came skipping out from the side door of the lobby.

He walked up to Lu Huiqing and said in a baby voice, "Uncle, Auntie asks you to come to the inner house to discuss matters..."

This child is none other than Li Kui’s son, Li Gang, who is just over four years old this year.

After listening to this, Lu Huiqing quickly stood up and went to the inner house.

……

Wei Ming Moduo listened to the harsh reprimand from the southern barbarian official in front of him.

His expression kept changing.

Finally, he could only dismount and walk in front of the southern barbarian officials, bowing and saying, "I am a foreigner and I don't know the etiquette. Please forgive me!"

He cannot afford, and dares not bear, the charge of disrupting the peace talks!
After all, it is the Great White Gao Kingdom that is losing on the battlefield!

(End of this chapter)