White-robed Minister

Chapter 227 0225 [Respectfully Sending Off Minister Xu Back to the Capital]

Xingqing Prefecture (Yinchuan).

Weiming Kerong entered the Western Xia palace and was led by a palace attendant to see the Empress Dowager and the young emperor.

The Prime Minister Liang Yimai was also present.

After paying his respects, Wei Mingke reported to Empress Dowager Liang: "The Song state has consistently refused to accept our Great Xia envoys, unless—"

"Unless what?" Empress Dowager Liang asked.

Koei Ayana stated, "Unless the two countries redraw the border, using the territory currently occupied as the border."

Empress Dowager Liang did not react strongly; she simply looked at Liang Yimai with a calm expression.

The diplomacy between the two countries has been quite interesting in recent years.

In the first year of the Xining era, the two countries temporarily severed diplomatic and trade relations due to the issue of the ownership of Suizhou.

However, Empress Dowager Liang found her power unstable and unable to launch a war immediately. Therefore, she used the pretext of the death of her ruler to send envoys to the Song Dynasty to express her condolences. She then took the opportunity to propose peace talks to the Song Dynasty, demanding the return of Suizhou.

The Song Dynasty expressed deep condolences and regret over the death of the Western Xia ruler, but refused to return Suizhou.

In the second year of the Xining era, Empress Dowager Liang once again sent envoys to request the Song Dynasty to confer an official title upon the new ruler of Western Xia. She also reiterated her demand for the return of Suizhou to the Song Dynasty.

The Song Dynasty sent envoys to confer upon Li Bingchang the title of ruler of the Western Xia Kingdom and refused to return Suizhou.

The third year of the Xining era, which is this year.

After the war broke out, the Song Dynasty first sent envoys to negotiate, but they were refused entry by the Western Xia and remained in the border region. As the war situation improved, the Song Dynasty directly recalled the envoys.

With the Western Xia forces suffering defeats on all fronts, Empress Dowager Liang began to panic and hurriedly sent envoys to negotiate peace. She hoped to reclaim the territories lost this year by recognizing Suizhou as belonging to the Song Dynasty.

This time, the Western Xia envoys were turned away. The Song Dynasty border officials received them warmly, but refused to send them to Kaifeng.

Weiming Kerong added, "I just received news that the Song state has distributed all the outstanding annual tribute owed over the past few years to the civil and military officials and soldiers along the border."

Upon hearing this, Liang Yimai said to Empress Dowager Liang, "There's no point in talking anymore. The young emperor of Song is determined to fight."

Starting with the Suizhou dispute, the Song Dynasty began to delay its annual tribute payments to the Western Xia. They didn't say they wouldn't pay, but rather that they would postpone payment, and the amounts were always shortchanged.

I received half of it the year before last.

Last year, they gave one-third.

This year's annual tribute was not given at all.

Now, all the outstanding annual tribute owed over the past three years has been bestowed upon meritorious generals and officials of the Song Dynasty.

Empress Dowager Liang dismissed Weiming Kerong and summoned her lover and political allies to discuss how to deal with the situation behind closed doors.

Empress Dowager Liang complained, "Public opinion in the court is in an uproar. Tell me, why have we suffered defeats on all fronts, and such crushing ones at that?"

The governor of Western Xia, Luo Wei, who held military power, said, "Because the Song people had firearms."

"Firearms? Like those catapults that can launch iron balls?" Empress Dowager Liang asked.

Doroki explained, "Not only this kind, but there's also a smaller one. At first glance, it looks like a long-handled mace, but it can be ignited and produce smoke..."

It fired small projectiles. I sent spies to investigate and learned that the Song people collectively called them firearms. The larger ones were called cannons, and the smaller ones were called three-eyed guns.

Liang Yi asked, "Did you obtain any actual items?"

Duro shook his head and said, "No. The Song army has very strict control over this. The cannons are guarded by special personnel. After the battle, the three-eyed cannons will also be taken back and kept by the military commander. We did manage to get a telescope, though. We killed a Song scout and stole it. It can see very far away clearly."

Empress Dowager Liang said, "Have a craftsman make a copy of the telescope and send one to me."

The Empress Dowager's lover, Wang Meng, falsely claimed, "Who invented the firearms of the Song Dynasty?"

Du Luowei replied, "It is said that the telescope, hot air balloon, and firearms were all invented by Xu Lai, the top scholar of the Song Dynasty, and then improved and supervised by the civil officials of the Song Dynasty."

Empress Dowager Liang angrily said, "It's that top scholar from the Song Dynasty again! How come he's everywhere? Which famous minister from the Song Dynasty is he a descendant of?"

Du Luowei said, "The spies have also inquired about this person, but we don't know if the information is true. It is said that this Xu Lai comes from a poor mountain family. He couldn't afford to go to school when he was young, so he would go to the village school at the foot of the mountain to eavesdrop. One village school teacher chased him away, so he went to another village school to eavesdrop. He didn't have books, but he had a very good memory. He could remember what the teacher said after hearing it once. He didn't have pen and ink, so he used chicken feathers as pens and practiced writing on bluestone with stream water. He studied so hard for more than ten years and became the top scholar in the imperial examination before he was twenty years old."

The Liang siblings looked at each other, feeling as if they were listening to a story from a play.

Dorothy then took out a few more sheets of paper: "These are poems and essays collected by our spies. I heard they were written before Xu came. There are two poems and one essay on profound principles that are particularly famous in the Song Dynasty."

The attendant carefully presented Xu Lai's poems and essays to Empress Dowager Liang.

Empress Dowager Liang did not read it immediately: "Now there are three things that need to be done. First, deal with Weiming Langyu; second, quell public opinion in the court; and third, negotiate peace with the Song state, restore the annual tribute and trade, and it would be best to exchange the annual tribute for grain."

Wang Meng'e said, "Wei Minglangyu's family, as well as the families of his subordinates, have been taken into custody by my troops. He should back down."

Liang Yimai said, "We cannot kill this man; we should simply dismiss him from his post and exile him. Then we can grant official positions to his eldest and second sons."

1

The sixth prince in Western Xia ordered Weiming Langyu to lead troops into battle. Upon hearing of his defeat, they immediately dispatched troops to take over Lingzhou and detained Weiming Langyu and the families of his generals.

In this war between Song and Xia, Empress Dowager Liang did lose militarily, but she took the opportunity to eliminate her biggest political enemy.

Wang Meng'e said, "As long as Wei Minglang is exiled, we are not afraid of any public opinion in the court. These people have no soldiers, and they will shut up after a few days. Anyone who makes too much trouble will be arrested and imprisoned, or simply beheaded."

Empress Dowager Liang then asked, "What about peace talks with the State of Song?"

Liang Yimai said, "We must put pressure on the Song Dynasty through the Liao Dynasty. We can send envoys to the Liao Dynasty and say that we can't hold on any longer and are very likely to be annexed by the Song Dynasty. The Liao emperor will definitely not sit idly by and will surely send troops to force the Song Dynasty to negotiate peace. In addition, we can borrow or buy grain from the Liao Dynasty."

Empress Dowager Liang nodded and said, "This plan is excellent, let's do it this way."

The four continued to discuss the details, mainly focusing on how to deal with the opponents. In addition to Weiming Langyu, there were also some members of the imperial family and civil officials on their blacklist.

After the closed-door meeting ended, Liang Yimai and Du Luowei took their leave, leaving Empress Dowager Liang to spend time alone with her lover.

Only then did she have the leisure to peruse Xu Lai's poems and essays, praising him: "A young man should aspire to reach the clouds and consider himself the best among men. Indeed, what a fine spirit! It's a pity he cannot be of use to me."

Wang Meng'e laughed and said, "Once our Great Xia has recovered its national strength, if Xu Lai is still managing the border regions, we will send troops to capture him and have him write poems specifically for the Empress Dowager."

Empress Dowager Liang smiled upon hearing this: "You certainly know how to talk."

Empress Dowager Liang continued reading: "The poems of Li Bai and Du Fu are recited by countless people, but now they feel stale. Talented people emerge in every generation, each leading the literary scene for hundreds of years. What a boastful tone! I really want to meet him in person. He must be handsome and dashing. Alas, what a pity for my daughter."

She had just married her daughter to Dong Zhan's son, but they had a falling out less than six months later. Her daughter must be feeling neglected in Qing Tang.

Xizhou.

Inside and outside the city, there was a joyous atmosphere.

Civil and military officials were promoted, and clerks and soldiers were rewarded. The common people were happy about the victory; most of those conscripted as laborers returned, and those who did not return remained in Lanzhou temporarily.

The official document announcing Xu Lai's promotion arrived last, and his subordinates came to offer their congratulations.

Zhang Heng arrived with the official document for promotion. He succeeded Xu Lai as the military commissioner of Xihe Road and was responsible for moving the road's administrative center to Lanzhou.

As the two were handing over their duties, Xu Lai said to Zhang Heng, "During the tense fighting earlier, I accidentally knocked over the oil lamp and burned the account books."

Zhang Heng had a look on his face that said, "You're kidding me."

Xu Lai said, "I've already redone the new ledgers. But there are huge discrepancies, and no matter how I do the accounting, it won't make sense. Impeach me; it's none of your business."

Zhang Heng sighed, "Why go through all this?"

Xu Lai said, "I am unwilling to take responsibility for my predecessor, nor do I want my successor to take responsibility for me. The accounts of Xihe Road must be handed over to you flawlessly. As for how to deal with my burning of the account books, that is up to the court to decide. According to the rules, you should write a memorial impeaching me."

"I can't bring myself to write," Zhang Heng shook his head.

Zhang Heng was previously the Deputy Transport Commissioner of Shaanxi Circuit, whose office was located in Qinzhou City. He knew all too well what Xu Lai had done; those illegal operations were entirely for the purpose of expanding territory.

Moreover, Xu Lai had recommended him before.

Moreover, before leaving office, Xu Lai destroyed all the irregular accounting books, leaving Zhang Heng with clean books.

This is to avoid causing trouble for Zhang Heng.

It also avoids causing trouble for the officials in various states who are cooperating with Xu Lai's immigration efforts.

For both public and private reasons, Zhang Heng was unwilling to impeach Xu Lai.

Xu Lai said, "Then I will submit a memorial requesting punishment. You should also write a memorial; you don't need to impeach me directly, just explain the situation to the court."

After a long silence, Zhang Heng finally nodded: "Okay."

Xu Lai said, "Take your time to check the accounts. Just tell the court exactly how much is embezzled."

After saying that, Xu Lai strode away.

As Zhang Heng watched Xu Lai depart, he murmured to himself, "A true gentleman indeed!"

Zhang Heng didn't even want to replace the staff of the Military Commission left behind by Xu Lai, intending to continue using them. However, this required discussion with the relevant personnel, and they might not agree.

A few days later, Liao Zhenggu, Yu Shanyuan, and Ding Zhengchen all decided to leave, while only Zhang Shangying, Gong Fugui, and Guo Shen were willing to stay and help.

Xu Lai then recommended Huang Zhirou to Zhang Heng. Huang was a student and fellow townsman brought by Yu Shanyuan. She had previously worked as a clerk and was quite capable, but still somewhat inexperienced.

The brothers Yang Shu and Yang Xun both stayed in Lanzhou.

In particular, Yang Shu personally oversaw the construction of Lanzhou city. He was also responsible for planning the fortified villages along the Yellow River surrounding Lanzhou.

Zhang Heng decided to invite Yang Shu to serve as the chief secretary of the Military Strategy Office, to be his right-hand man.

On the day Xu Lai left Xizhou, not only did officials see him off, but a large number of people also came to see him off after hearing the news.

If Xu Lai hadn't sent people ahead of time to spread the word that Zhang Heng was his friend and wouldn't arbitrarily change the existing policies, many merchants and farmers would probably have begged him to stay.

Such things happen frequently and are even recognized by the imperial court.

Especially for officials at the county magistrate level, if a large number of people kneel and beg for their leave when their term expires, the prefect will proactively report this to the imperial court. If local official positions are not very sought after, the imperial court will usually allow the county magistrate to serve another term.

Xu Lai kept his promise and handed over the area of ​​Kangubao to Xia Saqiding for rule, and assigned him Qiang people.

Xia Saqiding was deeply moved because the Qiang leaders he had contacted had not played a role in the war and instead needed Xu to provide them with supplies.

He thought he had no chance, but Xu Laizhen actually kept his word.

Xia Saqi Ding had specifically sent his two sons back to Xizhou. The sons knelt by the Tao River, shouting, "Respectfully sending off Minister Xu back to the capital! May Minister Xu rise to great heights and enjoy boundless blessings!"

Upon seeing this, the Qiang tribal leaders, including Xia Yao and Ba Zhanjiao, also knelt down and shouted, "Respectfully sending off Minister Xu back to the capital, wishing Minister Xu a safe journey!"

May your fortune soar to great heights and your blessings continue to flow!

The military officers and clerks looked at each other, and some of them also knelt down and shouted.

Next came the soldiers, merchants, and farmers.

The civil officials laughed, but at the same time, they were filled with emotion.

Zhang Heng, however, felt immense pressure. Xu Lai held immense prestige here. If he didn't perform well, he risked attracting criticism, with everything being compared to Xu Lai's performance.

Dingxiang was saying goodbye to the officials' wives when she heard this and turned around in surprise. Seeing a group of people kneeling on the ground in front of her, she couldn't help but feel proud and happy.

Wang Hou said to his father, "Sir, if an official can be like this, then he will have no regrets."

Wang Shao asked, "You really aren't coming with me to Huanqing Road?"

Wang Hou said, "I have already become Master Xu's disciple and wish to continue learning from him."

"Whatever you want, go take the imperial examination if you want," Wang Shao said helplessly.

With Wang Shao's current qualifications and official rank, he is not qualified to be a military commissioner. The court only appointed Wang Shao as the acting military commissioner of Huanqing Circuit because of Xu Lai's strong recommendation, hoping that he could give full play to his talent in managing the border areas.

Zhao Nanjia, who was already pregnant, held Dingxiang's hand with great reluctance: "Since we came to Xizhou, you've been the closest to me. It's a pity you're going back to the capital, and I'm going to Lanzhou. I don't know when we'll see each other again."

Dingxiang said, "I'll write to you once we get a house in the capital."

The two women looked at each other and wept. Their relationship was as close as that of sisters, and the scene seemed like a farewell between life and death.

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