Do you know: I am the crown prince

Chapter 398 Betrayal
But no matter what the reason, there were frequent frictions between the Zuosilo tribe and the Western Xia, and now there was even a war, which could be said to be a deep blood feud.

Letting Dong Chen control Hehuang did not mean that there was any worry that he would defect to Western Xia. Another advantage was that Dong Chen was a Tibetan.

As long as he is strong enough, the resistance to annexing Hehuang Tubo will be much smaller than that of the Song Dynasty occupying Hehuang.

And because of his identity, it would not be the Western Xia that prevented the Song Dynasty from sending more troops to Hehuang, but the Song Dynasty that prevented the Western Xia from interfering in the situation in Hehuang.

"Sir, do you know anything about Dong Zhan? What are his abilities?" Zhao Xing asked.

It is almost impossible for Dong Zhan to defect to Western Xia, but there is another very important point, that is ability.

If Dong Chen cannot manage Hehuang well and achieve the goal of bringing down Western Xia, then there is no point in handing Hehuang over to him.

Hehuang is indeed barren, but the reason for its barrenness is that the people who occupied Hehuang were the Qiang and Tibetan tribes.

The Qiang people are a nomadic people, while the Tubo people are a semi-agricultural and semi-pastoral people.

Although the Qiang people had surrendered to the Han Dynasty as early as the Han Dynasty and changed from nomadic to farming.

But because they often rebel, they can only be considered as half-farming and half-pastoral now.

But whether it is the Qiang or the various Tibetan tribes, they are far behind the Han people in terms of planting.

We are still completely dependent on the weather for our livelihood.

Although the Han people also rely on the weather for their livelihood, their ancient ancestors had actually been studying how to get rid of this situation.

Measures such as water diversion for irrigation and fertilization have actually changed the situation of relying entirely on the weather for food.

However, the Qiang and Tibetan tribes only had a superficial understanding of these technologies.

In fact, although the Hehuang area is in the northwest, the water system in the area is quite developed. At least in the northwest, it is a very suitable place for farming.

When ancient people chose place names, they mostly liked to base them on the geographical location and nearby conditions.

The name Hehuang must contain a river.

Although Hehuang was very poor under the management of the Qiang and Tubo people, it could still be self-sufficient if some time was spent on management.

Therefore, for Zhao Xing, if handing Hehuang over to Dong Jian could not achieve the strategic goal of clamping down on Western Xia and restricting its development, but could still pose some threat to Western Xia and force it to strengthen its border defense of Hehuang, then he would rather spend some money and slowly manage Hehuang well.

As for whether it would become a threat, Zhao Xing was not worried.

Even if Hehuang has some potential, that’s just how big it is.

No matter how powerful Dong Zhan is, he cannot pose a threat when surrounded by powerful enemies.

"His Majesty!"

Han Zhang said: "I do know a little bit about Dong Jian. He entered the army when he was young and has participated in many wars and won many victories. He has decent ability."

"That's feasible."

Zhao Xing nodded when he heard this. Since Han Zhang said that Dong Chen was capable enough, with the support of the Song Dynasty, letting Dong Chen take charge of Hehuang would indeed pose a certain threat to Western Xia and achieve the goal of weakening Western Xia.

"But we have to wait until he arrives to decide the details. Dong Zhan may not agree." Zhao Xing said.

The plateau and Hehuang are originally connected. If the Zuosilu tribe wanted to attack Hehuang, they would have done it long ago.

To put it bluntly, people look down on the Hehuang area.

Even if the Song Dynasty proposed that Dong Chen be stationed in Hehuang, Dong Chen might not agree.

"Given the current situation, he has no choice but to agree." Han Zhang said with a smile.

The Song Dynasty and Western Xia had an alliance and were building the Great Wall in the north, which were all reasons for refusing to send troops to help.

The situation is stronger than the person, Dong Jian has no choice.

"In that case, the reception will be handed over to the Grand Prime Minister. When the Grand Prime Minister meets this person, he can test him first to see his attitude." Zhao Xing said.

He was the Emperor of the Song Dynasty. When his subordinates were bullied and came to him for justice, it was difficult for him to refuse.

At this time, his subordinates have to come forward first.

"Yes!" Han Zhang replied. …………

In the quiet valley, many birds were suddenly startled.

Not long after, a group of ragged people fled into the mountains and forests.

This group of people, numbering only a hundred or so, climbed over the hill, and the leader, a man in his twenties, shouted, "Stop and rest for a while."

Upon hearing this, the others dropped their weapons, lay on the ground, and gasped for breath.

"Brother, the pursuers were deceived by you and are not coming this way."

A boy of about seventeen or eighteen trotted over to Zuo Qi and said.

Zuo Qi heaved a sigh of relief when he heard this and said, "This guy is really amazing. He saw through all the false troops we arranged."

"Brother, why do you have to boost others' ambitions?"

The young man said disdainfully: "No matter how good the imperial army is, they have been trained for many years, and they have a large number of people, excellent weapons and armor, which gives them all the advantages. Our people are just peasants, who have been trained for too short a time and are not even an army. It is normal for them to be seen through, and now they have been thrown away by us."

"Brother Qiang! Don't underestimate the enemy!"

Zuo Qi looked at the young man and said sternly, "On the battlefield, underestimating the enemy is a taboo."

Zuo Qiang still felt a little disapproving after hearing this.

Seeing this, Zuo Qi sighed and said, "On the battlefield, if both sides are evenly matched and fight head-on, what is the point of a general learning military tactics? There is no so-called fairness in war. We are not as strong as the imperial army, but we have planned ahead..."

"That's because the imperial court discovered it in advance, otherwise my brother's plan would definitely succeed!" Zuo Qiang said.

"........."

Zuo Qi was speechless after hearing this and gave up the idea of ​​lecturing.

According to Zuo Qiang's logic, the imperial troops should have foolishly fallen into their trap.

"Ugh."

Zuo Qi sighed and said self-deprecatingly: "As the Art of War says: Before you think about victory, think about defeat first! I was a little too confident. If I had considered the possibility of being exposed earlier, I wouldn't be in such a mess now."

He preached to his cousin, but he also committed a big taboo this time.

I thought I had planned well and everything was under control, and I had never considered the possibility of failure.

Otherwise, if I had prepared earlier, I wouldn't be chased around at this time.

"Brother, this is not the time to talk about this. We only have so many people now. If we are caught up again, we will be finished. We have been circling around the imperial army for so long, it is time to rush and meet up with the leader." Zuo Qiang reminded.

"Ok!"

Zuo Qi nodded, stood up, pointed to the front and said: "This place is densely forested, and the imperial court's troops cannot completely surround and search. We will continue to go deep into the area for two or three days, and then turn around and go to meet the leader..."

"Oh no!"

Just then, a secret sentry who was posted on the periphery ran over with an anxious look on his face.

"General Shenwei, we are surrounded!"

In order to hide his identity, Zuo Qi did not tell his subordinates that he was a member of the Wizard Cult, but called himself General Shenwei.

"Huh?" Zuo Qi was stunned when he heard that.

Zuo Qiang said anxiously: "How could the imperial army arrive so quickly, unless..."

"Unless someone discloses our whereabouts!" Zuo Qi said.

"Brother, it looks like there's a traitor among us!"

Zuo Qiang looked at the person beside him fiercely.

Zuo Qi followed Zuo Qiang's gaze and looked at the more than one hundred survivors.

(End of this chapter)