King of Song

Chapter 657
In the blink of an eye, it was the beginning of the seventh year of Xining, the sky was freezing, and the snow was falling!
In the past year, the Great Song Dynasty was thriving.

Guo Kui, who was on Guangnan West Road, finally lived up to expectations, and finally drove the Jiaozhi people out of the Song Dynasty with a beautiful counterattack.And use harsh means to deter and temporarily cut off the coveting heart of Jiaozhi people.

Many people were very excited and shouted for Guo Kui to continue to march and completely destroy Jiaozhi.But the official Zhao Xu vetoed it.The reason is that the land of Cochin is humid, hot and full of miasma, and the soldiers are prone to acclimatization. They marched rashly last year, and they have already learned a lesson.Out of sympathy for the soldiers, the troops were temporarily withdrawn back to Bianjing to rest and recuperate.

As for Jiaozhi, they were given a stern warning and let them live temporarily.Thus demonstrating the heavenly power and benevolence of the Shang Kingdom, and the demeanor of a state of etiquette.

Everyone knows that this is just superficially high-sounding words, and because of this, Guo Kui's military exploits can never be compared with Qin Wang Zhao Zhao.

The official Zhao Xu also looked pale in front of King Qin!
Not long after the western army captured Lingzhou, the cold winter came and the Yellow River was frozen.The whole country of Song Dynasty was worried that they would take the opportunity to step on the ice, launch a counterattack, and regain Lingzhou.

Surprisingly, until the beginning of the seventh year of Xining, the worrying things never happened.

At the beginning, Zhao Zhao was a little strange, this is too inconsistent with the style of the Xixia people and the current situation!If this winter is missed, and the Song army is given a year to rectify and consolidate the territory on the east bank of the Yellow River, it will be difficult for Xixia to regain it.

Why can Xixia be so calm?It's so weird!

Ever since, many spies sneaked into the Xingqing Mansion, and the reason was not known until after many inquiries.

It turned out that Li Bingchang, the lord of the Western Xia Dynasty, suffered from serious illness and died young.

When Li Bingchang died, the Xixia Kingdom was in turmoil, and there was a lot of open and secret struggles around the position of the king.Under such circumstances, how could they have the mind to counterattack the Song Dynasty?On the contrary, he was very worried that the Song army would take advantage of the fire and loot, so he concealed the news as much as possible.

It's just that there is no impenetrable wall in the world, let alone such a major event as the death of the king, there must be clues to leak the news.

After Chang'an got the news, many people suggested that Zhao Zhao take the opportunity to send troops to directly attack Xingqing Mansion.

Zhao Zhao, the King of Qin, rejected this proposal after careful consideration. The Western Army also suffered heavy losses in the battle of Lingxia. They were exhausted and needed a period of time to recuperate.You can't eat a fat man with one bite, so you still need to proceed cautiously and step by step.

Furthermore, Xixia is currently in civil strife. If they are invaded by foreign enemies and threaten their foundation of survival, it is difficult to guarantee that they will not make peace temporarily and unite with the outside world.Why do you need to help the Xixia people?Just let them mess around first, it's a good thing if they don't threaten Lingzhou temporarily.At least one year of rest and recuperation time is precious, but it is a good thing that can't be dreamed of.

What's more, Zhao Xu in Bianjing is not a fuel-efficient lamp, so he needs to be careful.The cold winter is not conducive to marching and fighting, so this idea was directly dismissed.

After fighting openly and secretly for a period of time and coordinating interests, the candidate for the Xixia ruler was finally announced.

Li Bingchang's son Li Qianshun, who was less than half a year old, ascended to the throne, assisted by his maternal grandfather Liang Yibu.In the palace, there are two empress dowagers of Liang (grandmother and mother, both born in the Liang family).

Having just suffered a defeat in Lingxia, he was able to break out of the siege and become the auxiliary minister. Liang Yibu is not easy!

After careful inquiry, I found out that Liang Yibu had won the support of the Liao Kingdom when the troops were withdrawing through Hetao.Recently, the Tiande Army of the Liao Kingdom has been very active.

After going to war with the Song Dynasty and losing half of the country, the importance of Liao's support to Xixia is self-evident.It's just that even though he helped his grandson ascend the throne and became a minister of the auxiliary government, Liang Yibu's life was not easy.Successive failures made Xixia soldiers very dissatisfied.The Liang family's two generations of empress dowagers had power in the government and the public, which also aroused strong dissatisfaction among the party and nobles.

On the one hand, it is necessary to integrate the country, balance the party aristocracy, and stabilize the Liang family's rule; at the same time, it is necessary to guard against the Song army. For a while, Liang Yibu is also devastated!
It is rare for Zhao Zhao to have free time, but despite the arrival of the New Year and the birth of his third son, he cannot return to Bianjing to reunite with his family.

Longtan and tiger's lair, after finally breaking out, how can they be in danger again.

It's just that Zhao Zhao, who is observant, will not let go of any disturbance in Bianjing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In the city of Bianjing, the atmosphere of the New Year is still strong.

Sima Guang's mansion welcomes a New Year's guest——Shao ​​Yong!
After the polite greetings, Sima Guang invited Shao Yong into the study.Don't go to the Three Treasures Hall if you have nothing to do, he knows that Shao Yong's status is special now, so he won't go to the door easily.Now that I'm here, I'm afraid there will be nothing to say.

In fact, Sima Guang didn't want to get involved, but he also knew that it was impossible to stay out of it.What's more, Shao Yong is a close friend, how can he refuse him?

"Brother Junshi, happy new year!" Shao Yong smiled: "Brother Junshi is in good spirits, but what is the happy event? Let me guess!"

Sima Guang couldn't help but smiled wryly, and didn't interrupt, allowing Shao Yong to "joke".

Shao Yong smiled and said, "But it's because Brother Junshi was nominated as a Bachelor of Jixian Hall?"

"I don't have much talent and learning, how dare I have such unreasonable thoughts?" Sima Guang was very modest, but it was tantamount to acknowledging the fact. It was no secret that someone elected him as prime minister.

Shao Yong asked with a playful smile, "Brother Junshi isn't tempted at all?"

Sima Guang was obviously hesitant. It would be a lie to say that the official did not have the heart to be a prime minister!It's just that he has always been rigorous and modest, and he is completely a gentleman. He will not deny it, but it is not easy to admit it publicly.

Shao Yong broke the embarrassment with a smile, and said: "The prime minister is certainly good, but if you can't gain the trust of the officials, the monarch and the ministers can't complement each other, I'm afraid you can't even have a good death..."

This statement is not false at all, and Wang Anshi's lessons learned from the past are obvious to all.What else can I say when I meet such a cold official?

"Brother Junshi, do you think it's possible?" Shao Yong asked very impolitely, more or less like stabbing someone's wound.

Sima Guang pondered for a moment, then shook his head and said: "Wang Jiefu and I are not conspiring against each other, can the officials use me? Anyone is good as a prime minister, not just a villain like Lu Huiqing. The Song Dynasty can no longer be made into a miasma." .”

"Brother Junshi is indeed a gentleman, with a magnanimous heart!"

Seeing Shao Yong's smile, Sima Guang was puzzled: "Brother Yao won't ask me this for no reason, but what..."

Shao Yong said in a deep voice: "To tell you the truth, I am afraid that the position of Prime Minister is not destined for Brother Junshi!"

As expected, Sima Guang was not disappointed, his expression was very flat.

Shao Yong continued: "But don't worry, it won't be Lu Huiqing! As for the candidate, Brother Junshi may be surprised!"

"Who is it?" It wasn't Lu Huiqing, so Sima Guang felt relieved.But the second half of Shao Yong's sentence immediately aroused his curiosity.

"Han Zhigui!" (written by Han Qi)

Sima Guang's eyebrows twitched, obviously a little surprised, this answer is indeed a bit unexpected.Unexpectedly, the official family actually used this person, which is extraordinary!
As a veteran of the Three Dynasties, Sima Guang knew far more information than anyone else, and was the editor-in-chief of "Zi Zhi Tong Jian".So in an instant, he figured out many things, the past, the present, and the future.In addition, he was even more surprised by the news channel of King Qin.

The choice of the prime minister is a secret, and the king of Qin already knows it well before there is any news in the court.Know yourself and the enemy, win a hundred battles without danger, King Qin did it.It's a pity that the officials didn't realize that there were eyes and ears around them.

Shao Yongdao: "Wang Jiefu fell, Wen Kuanfu resigned, and Han Zhigui paid his respects to Prime Minister. A few months ago, no one would have imagined such a situation!"

"Han Qi!" Sima Guang shook his head and said, "To be honest, once upon a time, I thought that Wen Kuanfu was the most likely, but I didn't expect..."

"You didn't expect him to resign, did you?"

"Yes!" Sima Guang was very puzzled by this, Wen Yanbo's situation is very good, he is in the Daming Mansion, Hebei Road Xuanfu Envoy has made great achievements in his tenure, and it is not a problem for him to be a chancellor again.But he resigned suddenly, is he tired?Want to spend your old age peacefully with idle clouds and wild cranes?

Sima Guang didn't believe it, it was neither sooner nor later, but it was such an unusual time to speak.Could it be that Wen Yanbo deliberately avoided the officials and King Qin?Maybe, I heard that he has a son who is an official in Chang'an.But this does not represent his attitude, no matter who sits on the dragon chair in the Chuigong Hall, he can exist aloofly.Even if it was to avoid suspicion and protect himself, it would not be such a direct way at such a special time.

There may be other secrets in it, it seems that Shao Yong knows something!
Shao Yong said with a smile: "Before the king of Qin raided Lingzhou, Wen Jiyuan of Chang'an received an order to delay the delivery of grain and grass to Liu Changzuo's troops. Wen Jiyuan had a sincere heart and could not bear the frontline soldiers to suffer innocent disasters, so he did not Obey...Wen Yanbo had no choice but to resign."

"This..." Sima Guang was stunned by the seemingly irrelevant rhetoric, and asked after a long time: "Could it be..."

"That's right, someone wants to use Wen Jiyuan in Chang'an as his eyes and ears, perhaps it can also be said to be a test and control of Wen Yanbo..."

"Delay the delivery of grain and grass!" Sima Guang sneered and said: "The three armies have not moved, and the grain and grass will go first. If the grain and grass are delayed, the advance of Liu Changzuo's troops will inevitably be hindered, and the army may be defeated. If he can't arrive in Lingzhou in time, then King Qin Your Highness will go deep alone, but will be surrounded by Xixia people... What a vicious way to draw fire from the bottom of the pot, and use a knife to kill people!"

"His Royal Highness the King of Qin was killed in battle. Hundreds of thousands of Western Kings and soldiers were killed. The plan to attack Xixia will inevitably fail completely. Xixia will take the opportunity to counterattack. The entire northwest is in danger. It is not impossible for the party's troops to reach Tongguan." Shao Yong sneered: "Look This person's courage is extraordinary!"

"Zi Zhi Tong Jian, Zi Zhi Tong Jian... Is this how to learn from history?" Sima Guang's eyes suddenly became more sad.

(End of this chapter)