White-robed Minister

Chapter 217 0215 [War Must Take Politics into Account]

"Sanlang, when you return to Qinzhou this time, take these Khotan jades with you." Dingxiang presented a box.

Xu Lai opened it out of curiosity and found several silk bags inside, each with a note attached, on which were written the names of Pianpian and others.

Upon opening the silk bag, one finds it filled with Hetian jade.

Jade bracelets were prepared for Pianpian and Yu'er, and jade pendants were prepared for Dou Niang. Even the two children, Xu Wei and Xu Tao, received longevity locks made of gold inlaid with jade.

Xu Lai was both amused and exasperated: "I've already prepared a gift."

Dingxiang hesitated and said, "Then... never mind."

"Since you've already bought it, I'll take it with me. Don't worry, I'll handle it," Xu Lai reassured him.

Dingxiang finally smiled. She knew her position was awkward and had been trying to get closer to Pianpian and the others.

Xu Lai looked at the Hetian jade with considerable curiosity: "Are there already people in Xizhou doing jade business? Which route did this Khotan jade take?"

Dingxiang replied, "There is only one jewelry store in the city. It sells gold, silver, jewels, and jade, and also runs a loan business."

The shop just opened last month, and the owner seems to be from Qin Prefecture. As for the Khotan jade, it appears he acquired it from the Qiang people.

Xu Lai could only marvel at the merchants' extraordinary abilities.

This stuff is like air, it seeps into everything. Give them a little opportunity, and they'll do any kind of business, they'll come up with any method.

The next day, Xu Lai set off with his entourage.

Wang Zhongzheng also followed Xu Lai. He appeared very respectful, but harbored deep resentment towards Xu Lai. He had just received his order to return to the capital and suspected that Xu Lai had reported him to the emperor.

Wang Zhongzheng made a fortune this time, extorting money from many generals of both the Han and Qiang ethnic groups. In particular, Yu Longke, who sold Yanchuan Village last year, had a lot of cash on hand and was extorted by the eunuch for a full thousand strings of cash!

Wang Zhongzheng also managed to acquire several Tao inkstones in Taozhou, which are high-grade and rare items. He plans to present them to the emperor and empress upon returning to the capital.

Xu Lai glanced at the carriage, which was full of the eunuchs' "luggage," and the ruts left by the carriage as it moved were very deep.

Grass!

I'll kill this bastard sooner or later; how dare he act like this on my turf.

The straight-line distance from Xizhou City to Qinzhou City is less than 400 li, but the actual journey is more than 600 li.

Xu Lai didn't care whether the eunuch lived or died, and rode his horse quickly, arriving in Qin Prefecture several days later.

-

Fearing being robbed by the Qiang people, Wang Zhongzheng originally planned to travel with Xu Lai. However, upon seeing Xu Lai flee with his entourage, he forced the villages and fortresses along the way to send troops to escort him.

"My husband is back!"

The doorman, Chen Dequan, shouted with joy.

The house was immediately thrown into a flurry of activity as Pianpian quickly led everyone out to greet them.

Xu Lai was ushered inside, patting the top of Dou Niang's head as they walked: "You've grown taller again! You've grown so fast these past two years!"

The damselfly said proudly, "I'm already thirteen years old."

"Haha, so that's a young lady now. I'll find you a marriage partner another day," Xu Lai joked with a smile.

The damsel blushed and said, "I don't want to get married so early."

Wang Hou and Chen Xiaoyi, along with their entourage from Xizhou and servants from Qinzhou, carried large and small bags of things into the courtyard.

Wang Hou couldn't help but steal a few glances, and when his eyes met Dou Niang's, he realized it was impolite and quickly turned his head away. As he left the inner courtyard, he couldn't help but look back frequently.

The damsel asked in a low voice, "Third Uncle, who is that person? How rude!"

Xu Lai smiled and said, "The young master of the Wang family."

Pianpian and Yu'er each brought their sons over.

The eldest son, Xu Wei, was a year and a half old and had just learned to walk, but he had to hold onto something to walk. If he didn't touch anything, he would fall after taking a step or two.

His second son, Xu Tao, is over 60 days old. Last year, while Xu Lai was fighting for reinforcements in the siege of the city, he received a letter informing him of Yu'er's pregnancy. He hasn't been home since, and he didn't even have time to come back when Yu'er gave birth.

Xu Lai picked up his eldest son, startling the little guy into crying loudly. Then he played with his two-month-old second son, who had just finished nursing and was sleeping soundly.

Xu Lai took out a wooden toy sword, put it in his eldest son's hand, and chatted with the child while coaxing him, saying, "Thank you for your hard work."

Pianpian laughed and said, "Sanlang is having a hard time on the frontier. We've made some new friends in Qinzhou, including the daughter-in-law of Cai Jinglue, the wife of Zhang Fucao, and the wife of Liu Zhangshu—the daughter-in-law of Hou, the prefect of Gongzhou, has also come with her children and is staying on the same street as us."

Xu Lai asked, "Does the young master of the Hou family often come to Qin Prefecture?"

"He's been living in Qinzhou City since the beginning of spring, hired by Cai Jinglue as a professor at the Qinzhou State School," Pianpian said. "We women often get together. By the way, the dramas in Qinzhou are different from those in the Central Plains and Guangdong. The singing style has a unique flavor, I heard it has the style of the Tang Dynasty."

It seems that Pianpian's life in Qinzhou was not boring, as she made friends with many female relatives of officials.

Seeing that Yu'er didn't speak, Xu Lai, afraid of neglecting her, took the initiative to ask, "Are you feeling better?"

"I felt a little unwell during my postpartum period, but I'm fine now," Yu'er said. "My sister takes me with her when she goes out to parties and to see plays, so don't worry, my lord, we're both doing well."

The more they said that, the more guilty Xu Lai felt, after all, he hadn't been back for almost a year.

Xu Lai put his son down, opened a box, and took out the gifts he had brought back for his family.

A few pieces of clothing.

Yu'er touched it curiously: "What kind of fabric is this made of?"

Xu Lai said, "I bought the camel hair cloth produced in Western Xia with my own official salary."

Xu Lai now has the power to mobilize countless funds and resources; the expenditure on immigration alone exceeds one million strings of cash. All of this money has been used for illegal operations.

He can't implicate too many people. If things go wrong in the future, he'll have to take the blame himself. He'll probably have to learn from Teng Zijing and burn the account books!

Despite handling so much money and grain, Xu Lai didn't touch a single penny. Even when buying gifts for his family, he used his salary. He had a high wage now, so there was no need for him to take anything else and risk corrupting his conscience.

Pianpian, Yu'er, and Dou Niang all picked up the camel hair clothes and examined them carefully. Dou Niang even ran back to her bedroom to change her clothes.

Not only is the fabric made of camel hair, but the patterns and styles are also in the Western Xia style.

The damselfly, dressed in her new clothes, skipped and hopped around, turning in circles to show off to her uncles and aunts.

The pursuit of new things is human nature.

Even the nobles of Kaifeng often wore Liao and Western Xia clothing, emphasizing an exotic style. Similarly, the Liao and Western Xia nobles also followed suit.

Only after experiencing truly great suffering will Confucianism emphasize the orthodoxy of clothing and manners, and most of the time it is very tolerant of this.

After playing with his family until nightfall, Xu Lai went into Pianpian's room, took out the jade pendants, and explained, "These were given to you by Dingxiang. There were too many people during the day, so it wasn't convenient for me to take them out. Please give them to Yu'er and the others when you have time."

Pianpian chuckled and said, "Khotan jade is very expensive; she certainly has money. I'll buy a gift with Yu'er tomorrow, and you can take it back to her, my husband. It's only natural to reciprocate; not returning a gift would seem impolite."

Xu Lai gave an awkward smile and quickly pulled Pianpian into his arms, whispering sweet nothings to her.

Once Pianpian was in a better mood, she went to retrieve her own poems and discussed with Xu Lai how to revise them.

"Husband, wife, the bath is ready," a maid called from outside the door.

Xu Lai said in a low voice, "Let's shower together."

Pianpian said, "Who bathes together?"

"I heard this is called a 'Mandarin Duck Bath'," Xu Lai said with a smile.

"Aren't you afraid of breaking the bathtub?" Pianpian scolded him for being indecent, but her steps were light and eager, as if she wanted to experience a bath together.

The next day, Xu Lai went to visit Cai Ting.

The two had only met once before in Guangzhou, when Xu Lai was still a student in the prefecture, while Cai Ting was the transport commissioner of Guangdong.

Seeing it again now, I can't help but feel a pang of sadness.

Cai Ting is now Xu Lai's half-superior. He is the Military Commissioner of Qin Fengxi River Road, while Xu Lai is only the Military Commissioner of the Western Route of Qin Fengxi River Road.

It is unusual for a single region to have two military commissioners at the same time, a situation rarely seen even in the Song Dynasty, where official titles were so diverse and varied.

Xu Lai explained the situation in the Lanzhou direction in detail, and then discussed with Cai Ting, "If we can lure out the Western Xia army in Lanzhou, we will have already won half the battle."

Cai Ting said, "Then I'll attack harder from my side."

-

"Don't actually take Xishi City (Dingxi), otherwise the Western Xia army might not come," Xu Lai hurriedly reminded him.

Cai Ting said, "Western Xia will definitely come to the rescue of Xishi City; it is too important. Even if I capture Xishi City, Western Xia will surely send a large army to take it back."

Xu Lai thought for a moment and said, "Then it would be best to take it directly without resorting to siege and reinforcements. At that time, Prime Minister Cai can defend the city, and I can send troops to cut off their retreat and trap the Western Xia army in the valley."

Cai Ting said, "The Western Xia army's subsequent reaction depends on how the situation in their court changes. Empress Dowager Liang and Weiming Langyu are still fighting. Although Empress Dowager Liang controls the court and the local areas, Weiming Langyu holds military power in Lingzhou."

If we were to use the Song Dynasty as a metaphor for the political situation in Western Xia, it would be like the Empress Dowager controlling Kaifeng and other regions, while a member of the imperial family held significant military power in Luoyang.

The Empress Dowager dared not push too far, fearing that the heavy troops of Luoyang would directly attack Kaifeng!

Xu Lai speculated, "There are two possible outcomes. First, the two will temporarily put aside their differences and cooperate fully to fight us. Second, Empress Dowager Liang will take the opportunity to strip Wei Minglangyu of his military power."

"I suspect it will be the third outcome," Cai Ting smiled. "Once we achieve a great victory, Empress Dowager Liang will use it as an excuse to force Wei Minglangyu to lead his army to Lanzhou."

Xu Lai nodded and said, "This is actually the second scenario I mentioned. As long as Wei Minglangyu sends out troops, Empress Dowager Liang's trusted troops will seize the opportunity to occupy Lingzhou and eliminate the major threat near the capital. At that time, Wei Minglangyu's army will become a guest army that has lost its home base and can only be manipulated by Empress Dowager Liang at will."

Following this line of thought, Cai Ting said, "Empress Dowager Liang doesn't want to see Weiming Langyu win or lose badly; she probably hopes he can only win or lose by a small margin!"

Xu Lai smiled and said, "What Empress Dowager Liang most wants to see is Weiming Langyu achieve a Pyrrhic victory and retake Xishi City. In this way, she can not only regain the lost territory but also completely control Weiming Langyu."

Cai Ting then analyzed, "Then it depends on Wei Minglangyu's character. If he is wholeheartedly devoted to the country, he will naturally go all out. If he has selfish motives, he is very likely unwilling to fight a real battle and will try to preserve his strength as much as possible."

"We need Prime Minister Wang's help," Xu Lai said, mentioning Wang Anshi without warning.

Cai Ting nodded and said, "That's right!"

The topics of their discussion had long since shifted from military to politics.

The people of Western Xia were not united, and the same was true for the Song Dynasty.

This battle will inevitably reach a stalemate in the end. The troops and supplies under Xu Lai and Cai Ting's control are at best sufficient to support their capture of the Lanhui front.

If the stalemate continues, the Song Dynasty court will inevitably become a hindrance, and it's likely that some ministers will even propose returning the newly occupied territories. This is because the Song Dynasty is currently in dire financial straits and simply lacks the funds and resources to sustain the stalemate at the front lines.

In this situation, only Wang Anshi could withstand the pressure!

Wang Anshi was not Xu Lai's political enemy; in fact, from the current perspective, Wang Anshi was Xu Lai's strongest supporter.

Xu Lai wanted to expand the territory, while Wang Anshi's reforms also urgently needed military victories.