The prince is more stable

Chapter 228: Meeting with Zhang Qie
Know when to quit and avoid getting carried away.

In addition to the great victory, Zhao Xu made the right choice.

From the perspective of a ruler, Zhao Xiaoqian's capture of the Western Xia capital had already accumulated enough bargaining chips for the Song Dynasty. The next step was to talk to the Western Xia about a truce.

Is it possible to use the power of a great victory to order the Song army to destroy the Western Xia Kingdom?

Of course, with Zhao Xiaoqian's 5,000 musketeers and tactics that are completely different from the past, it is not completely impossible to destroy the Western Xia Kingdom.

However, the Song Dynasty would pay a heavy price in casualties, and don't forget that there is a Liao Kingdom in the north watching covetously.

If the Song Dynasty suffered heavy losses in this war, guess what the Liao Dynasty would do?
You wouldn't come here with good intentions to celebrate the birthday of the Song emperor.

Do you really think we are brothers? We are wolves, wolves from the north, and we want to eat people.

Therefore, it is in the best interests of the Song Dynasty for the Song-Xia War to have reached this point today. Any more or less would be insufficient.

The capital was captured, the Song army was broken up into small units, and many armies penetrated deep into the heart of Western Xia and sat at the negotiating table. This was the extremely heavy bargaining chip that the Song Dynasty put on the table.

What the Song Dynasty needs is, first of all, dignity. You don’t have to think about the annual gifts from now on. Not only that, Xixia must also pay tribute to the Song Dynasty from now on.

The second is the need for territory. If you occupy my territory, you must give it up. If we occupy your land, we will not return it.

Zhao Xu proposed conditions and was not afraid that Empress Dowager Liang would not agree to them.

The capital was captured, and Zhao Xiaoqian had basically slaughtered all the trusted officials and generals in the city. Empress Dowager Liang was in a state of panic, so she had no time to continue fighting with the Song army. She was busy going back to clean up the mess.

…………

The news that Zhao Xiaoqian led his troops to capture the capital of Western Xia spread throughout the streets and alleys of Bianjing at the fastest speed.

Similar to the reactions of the officials in the court, the people of Bianjing were first stunned and in disbelief. Then some of them came to their senses, confirmed it again and again, and then stood in the street and yelled loudly, some muttered to themselves in a daze, and some knelt on the ground with tears streaming down their faces.

Most of them were ecstatic and invited their relatives and friends to the restaurant. They gritted their teeth and spent the money they had saved, ordered some wine and food, and got drunk together.

Those who were happier than the common people were the scholars.

They are well-read, more emotional than ordinary people, and better at expressing this emotion.

Don’t say that the Song Dynasty was weak, but the hearts of literati were never weak, otherwise Song poetry would not be divided into the bold and graceful schools.

Despite repeated military failures, the Haofang School remained optimistic and resolute. Their poems were filled with the fantasy of the royal army conquering the north and the expectation of frequent good news from the court.

Today, the good news finally came, and it was an incredible victory in conquering the enemy's capital.

Not only were the common people delighted and surprised, but the intellectuals were even more excited.

This is such typical material for the Haofang School! Quickly compose poems and lyrics, using all kinds of ci tunes, and drink, go to brothels and hug girls to drink, and celebrate no matter how poor the life is.

As a result, Zhao Xiaoqian's good news inadvertently stimulated the economy of Bianliang.

On that day, the streets and alleys of Bianjing, all kinds of brothels, restaurants and prostitutes were crowded with people, and the girls serving wine were so busy that they had no time to rest. The amount of alcohol consumed in the capital was several times more than usual.

What’s interesting is that Zhao Xiaoqian became completely famous in Bianliang.

The military achievement of conquering the capital of Western Xia was repeatedly praised. The details that were not written in the victory memorials were described by storytellers in brothels and scholars drinking in prostitutes as if they were there watching Zhao Xiaoqian conquer the capital. They even remembered Zhao Xiaoqian's posture when he rode into the city clearly.

Not only Zhao Xiaoqian himself is popular, but also the poems he wrote.

Zhao Banque's reputation was not in vain; he was already well-known throughout the world. Now his poems were being recited by the literati in Bianliang. The girls in the brothels were playing their pipa until smoke came out of their throats, and they were all singing the poems written by Zhao Xiaoqian.

The image of the handsome and elegant Prince of Chu, who was both talented in literature and martial arts, came to life, attracting the hearts of countless ladies in Bianjing.

As for the Chu Palace of the person who made the contribution, and the Fanglin Garden of Zhao Xiaoqian's mother Feng, the two mansions were celebrating wildly.

After Zhao Hao returned home, he immediately rewarded his servants lavishly. It was a rare occasion for him to be so generous. He gave each servant a reward of one string of money. Then Zhao Hao laughed wildly and went into the backyard. Together with his concubines, he fired a few cannons to celebrate the happy event. Zhao Hao's legs became weak and he did not go out for three days.

…………

Western Xia, Xiazhou City.

After three days and three nights of running, the horse under Zhao Xiaoqian's seat was almost broken in legs. The soldiers finally arrived at Xiazhou City and joined forces with Zhang Yu's 20,000 troops.

While the literati and common people in Bianjing City were still celebrating his victory, no one knew how sad Zhao Xiaoqian was.

Capturing the capital of Western Xia was like stirring up a hornet's nest. All the way from Xingqing Prefecture to Xiazhou, the Western Xia army frantically pursued and intercepted Zhao Xiaoqian's troops, vowing to kill this evil villain and wipe out the shame of the fall of the Western Xia capital.

As a result, Zhao Xiaoqian became the target of public criticism in the land of Western Xia, and everyone wanted to kill him.

It's really hard to be treated like a rat crossing the street.

With only 5,000 musketeers, they were not invincible. When the enemy came charging in the tens of thousands, there was no choice but to flee. Zhao Xiaoqian hadn't considered the idea of ​​fighting to the death. Having gained such a huge advantage, it was understandable that the enemy pursued him so frantically. After all, conquering the capital was more serious than digging up their ancestral graves; it would be surprising if they didn't fight to the death.

Faced with the pursuit and blockade of tens of thousands of enemies, who were ready to fight to the death, Zhao Xiaoqian only had 5,000 troops under his command. Wouldn't it be crazy if he didn't run away?
Although the journey was only a few hundred miles, Zhao Xiaoqian had to lead his troops to run for three days and three nights to avoid being hunted down. Finally, he shook off the pursuers and arrived at Xiazhou City.

As the name of Xiazhou City suggests, it was a city of Western Xia.

When the troops were divided, Zhang Yu's 120,000-strong army used Xiazhou as the center and attacked in all directions, while Zhang Yu alone led 20,000 troops to stay in Xiazhou, ready to provide support and assistance to all parties at any time.

The two countries have been at war for over a month, but the situation has become stalemate.

Zhang Qie divided his troops, and in order to deal with the Song army's division, Empress Dowager Liang had to divide her troops to pursue him. As a result, although Zhang Qie's 20,000 troops were only a few hundred miles away from Empress Dowager Liang's troops stationed in Hongzhou, the two armies lived in peace and maintained a delicate and magical balance for more than half a month.

Today, Zhao Xiaoqian led 5,000 soldiers and horses to Xiazhou to meet with Zhang Qie. The happiest person was Zhang Qie himself.

Zhang Yu knew the military report of the capital's capture earlier than Zhao Xu. Upon learning that the Xixia capital had been captured by Zhao Xiaoqian, Zhang Yu, as the commander-in-chief of an army, actually violated military law for the first time. He secretly drank a jar of wine in his tent, and then covered his face and cried.

After guarding the border for many years, no one is looking forward to this victory more than him. They have waited too long.

Zhao Xiaoqian's victory report served as an explanation for his many years of dangerous and bitter border guarding career.

I have no regrets even if I die!
Standing outside the city gate, Zhang Qie personally welcomed Zhao Xiaoqian into the city.

Looking at Zhao Xiaoqian, who looked exhausted and tired, Zhang Qie patted his shoulder vigorously. His eyes showed not only admiration, but also deep gratitude and even a bit of admiration.

Isn't it strange that an old man in his sixties admires an eighteen-year-old boy?

Not surprising at all.

What Zhao Xiaoqian accomplished was something that an old man in his sixties like him could never achieve no matter how hard he tried. For this reason alone, he deserves admiration.

Not only did he admire her, he even wanted to kneel down, otherwise he really didn't know how to express his feelings.

Zhao Xiaoqian was welcomed into the city and taken to the prefectural government office.

This was originally the office of the governor of Western Xia. After Zhang Yu occupied Xiazhou, the office naturally belonged to him.

After entering the government office, Zhang Qie immediately ordered cattle, sheep, wine and food to be sent out as a reward for the 5,000 musketeers. Then the two of them entered the main hall, where his personal guards served them exquisite wine and food.

Looking at the delicious and delicious dishes in front of him, Zhao Xiaoqian observed them in amazement for a while, then looked at Zhang Qie again.

Finally, Zhao Xiaoqian came forward and smelled the dish, frowning suspiciously.

Zhang Yu's originally happy mood was instantly destroyed by him. He said unhappily, "Is the county lord afraid that I will poison you?"

Zhao Xiaoqian hurriedly laughed and said, "Marshal Zhang, you're too serious. This is not a joke. How could I judge a gentleman by my own standards? Haha..."

He laughed twice pretending to be heroic, but he couldn't help feeling a little nervous in his heart.

I traveled all the way to Xiazhou City to meet him. From the moment we met, Zhang Yu, the old man, was extremely warm to me. Not only did he personally go out of the city to greet me, but he also held my arm and chatted with me all the way, holding my arm intimately as we walked to the prefectural government office, and finally served me such exquisite wine and food...

This is not normal. When he and Zhang Qie met for the first time, he was not treated so warmly.

Matters in the court and on the battlefield are both extremely dangerous.

What if this old man is jealous of my capture of the Xixia capital and my extraordinary achievement, and simply poisons me to death, and then claims the credit for it? Wouldn't my death be unjust?

Don't doubt it, such immoral and unconscionable things have been done by people throughout history.

You can judge a person by his appearance but not by his heart. Zhao Xiaoqian and Zhang Qie were not very familiar with each other, so you still had to be on guard when necessary.

Seeing Zhao Xiaoqian's uneasy look, Zhang Qie couldn't help but sneer a few times, secretly regretting that he was still admiring this kid yesterday. He was simply blinded by greed.

How could this typical cunning little fox look like a young hero who had just conquered the enemy's capital?
With a cold snort, Zhang Yu took the lead in raising his wine glass and said in a deep voice, "I would like to congratulate the Marquis of the County on your conquest of the Xixia capital and your extraordinary feat, which has enhanced the prestige of the Song Dynasty. Marquis of the County, please!"

Just as he was about to drink it all in one gulp, Zhao Xiaoqian stopped him urgently.

Zhang Qi looked at him in confusion.

Zhao Xiaoqian, however, put on a forced smile, carefully took the wine glass from his hand, and then handed him his own glass.

The two exchanged glasses in a cordial and friendly atmosphere.

Only then did Zhao Xiaoqian straighten his back, holding up his cup and saying proudly, "General Zhang, I'll drink first as a sign of respect. You are welcome to drink as you please."

After drinking the whole cup and taking a long breath, Zhao Xiaoqian didn't even taste the wine, but just praised it as usual, "Good wine!"

Zhang Qie's face turned green with anger.

This brat is actually wary of me. He just said that he would never judge others by his own standards. Do you want to take a look at what you are doing?
(End of this chapter)