choke element

Tianjin Prefecture.

In a newly built garden, the feast is in full swing.

Yelu Chucai held the pen in one hand and the wine cup in the other.Occasionally take a sip or two, and then scribble a few words on the paper.However, his poetry is not good, and he thought hard for a long time on the spot, only two lines.The so-called "strings and poems to help you enjoy yourself, Xianqu will be at ease when you grow old", in the eyes of experts, it is rough and easy.

There were quite a few literati attending the banquet, and the one sitting at the head of the guest table was Xuan Zeng, the special envoy of Shi Miyuan, a power minister of the Southern Dynasty.

At this time, many people asked Xuanzang to comment on Yelu Chucai's poems, Xuanzang laughed and said, "Of course it's good!"

The garden where they were located was newly completed last month. The waterside pavilion where the banquet was held was very high, close to the Yu River, overlooking a large area in the west of Tianjin Mansion.This garden is part of the construction of the entire Tianjin government. Perhaps in order to make Xuan Zang, the envoy of the Song Dynasty, feel friendly, many urgent adjustments were made in the last part of the project to make the style more in line with the aesthetics of the Southern Dynasty scholar-bureaucrats.

Inside the main entrance of the garden, there is a cobblestone-paved, winding path with exotic flowers and rocks beside the road, two of which are jagged and are said to be rare masterpieces moved from the Imperial Garden of the Central Capital.Between the flowers and rocks, there are clear brooks and graceful green trees. Occasionally, corridors and waterside pavilions can be seen hidden among the flowers and trees.

After arriving in Tianjin, Xuan Zang first called on Yelu Chucai, a loyal minister of the Zhongdu court, and expressed to Yelu Chucai his wish to send troops to contain the Kaifeng court.Yelu Chucai did not expressly agree, nor did he object, he only said that Zhou Guogong was on tour in Haizhou, Shandong, and the two families happened to miss it; therefore, they had to wait for Zhou Guogong to return before making a decision.

Xuan Zeng settled down in Tianjin. In the first few days, he was very anxious and asked about Guo Ning's whereabouts every day, but then he gradually relaxed.

First, because Xuan Zong was here, Yelu Chucai moved his office to Tianjin Mansion, invited Xuan Zang to banquets from time to time, and treated him very politely and gracefully.

For hundreds of years, the Jin people have looked down upon the envoys of the Song Dynasty with arrogance. Even if the Dajin is divided into two points now, this condescending attitude is difficult to change.But Yelu Chucai and his cronies didn't have such an attitude at all. Their hospitality to Xuan Zang was flattering.

On the other hand, Xuan Zeng proposed that he wanted to leave the building, go out for a walk, and relax.Yelu Chucai also agreed.

Xuan Zong is an official who is familiar with practical affairs and has great eyesight.When Shi Miyuan asked him to come to the north, it was with the intention that hearing is believing and seeing is believing.Once he went out, although the area where he was allowed to walk was limited to several miles around the wharf and the buildings of Tianjin Prefecture, he still saw many things.

He saw that on the low-lying saline-alkali land on both sides of the Lushui River, a platform foundation several miles wide was being built, and large pieces of stone were being transported to lay the corridor.On the huge platform, there are tall halls and buildings, and there are also neat and uniform continuous houses and various buildings that are not clear but have clear functional planning.

Just looking at this specification from a distance, one can know that Zhou Guogong has thought very carefully in order to build his own hegemony and pursue perfection.

Although it is impossible to get close to take a closer look, but a rough estimate, I am afraid that the whole project is almost the same as King Hailing's construction of Daxing Mansion in Zhongdu and the restoration of Kaifeng Mansion in Nanjing.

During the time of King Hailing, Dajin was also considered to be powerful for a while, with a vast territory, and it relied on force to plunder the Li people as much as possible, so that those majestic and magnificent cities could be built.How does Guo Ning's power, Guo Ning's foundation, compare to King Hailing?
With such thoughts in mind, Xuan Zang paid special attention to the various constructions of the Ding Navy in the next few days. Sure enough, he found many large-scale construction sites one after another, and a large number of civilian workers were constructing them.

When Shi Xiang convened a secret meeting with his cronies, several people felt that Jia She, the new envoy of the Huaidong System, had a close relationship with the merchants, which would help the Song Dynasty understand the inside story of the Zhongdu court.Jia She also often reported that Guo Ning was so ambitious that he opened a military academy in Tianjin and trained naval forces, so that he relied heavily on maritime trade for income and expenditure.

Now it seems that Guo Ning's business is not limited to military academies and naval forces?

A regime that has just controlled half of the Jin Kingdom and has yet to secure its butt has invested so much manpower and material resources in a remote seaport; and this half of the country has been repeatedly destroyed by the fierce black tartars. How much oil can be squeezed out?

Yang Chengzhi, who often travels with Xuanzang, is quite proud of this, and often explains to Xuanzang that this is a port, this is a shipyard, this is a military fort, that is a workshop, that is a school, that is a bridge, and there are centuries-old buildings everywhere. plan.

Century plan?Isn't it a joke?

Yingzheng built the Great Wall, and Emperor Yangdi of Sui Dynasty dug canals. They all thought it was a century-old plan. What happened?

If it goes too far, Emperor Sejong and Emperor Zhangzong of Dajin spent countless people's efforts to build the so-called northern boundary moat, which was also a century-old project.Where is Jiehao now?Where are the hundreds of thousands of troops stationed in Jiehao?
Xuan Zang really disagreed with this approach.But this is very beneficial to Da Song.

During several visits afterwards, Xuan Zang asked many officials and literati accompanying him insinuatingly.They first talked about him from left to right, but later they said a few words in secret.

It turns out that Zhou Guogong Guo Ning started from recklessness, has a quick temper, no matter what he does, he is vigorous and decisive, and he immediately seeks to report to his subordinates, with immediate results, which is why his Dinghai regime rose so rapidly.

But after he took control of the court in Zhongdu, he still acted like this. Whatever he thought of, he had to do it. He didn't understand the principle of governing a big country like cooking a small fish. Therefore, the officials in charge of government affairs were often devastated. , is even more difficult.

In this way, Xuan Zeng made his judgment more clear.

Last year there was news from Kaifeng that the central capital was in short supply of food and fodder, which was true.The Prime Minister once instructed to block the smuggling of grain to the north, which indeed brought great trouble to the moderate court.

In the year since then, the court of the Central Capital of the Kingdom of Jin has been deliberately managing its relationship with the Great Song Dynasty, trying to reach a secret cooperation with the Great Song Dynasty in various ways.They seek the copper coins of the Song State and the grain of the Song State. For this reason, they did not hesitate to recruit the officials of the Song Dynasty privately and set up a commercial firm dedicated to maritime trade.

Why is that?
It is all because of the situation that the East and the West are both in harmony, Guo Ning cannot clearly succumb to the Great Song Dynasty, and has to maintain his strength against the Great Song Dynasty in order to continue to boast of orthodoxy.But he had to rely on maritime trade in order to maintain such a huge army and huge expenditure as the naval regime.Without the financial resources at sea, he can't maintain the situation that seems to be burning with fire for a day, let alone go further and usurp the throne of the Great Jin Kingdom.

If Song Dynasty's financial resources are diverted to the battlefield with Kaifeng, it will definitely affect the trade with Zhongdu, and Zhongdu will never like it.

If the Song Dynasty suffered heavy losses in the process of fighting Kaifeng, it would either fall to Kaifeng, or the court would be furious and mobilize its troops. This would also affect the trade with Zhongdu, and Zhongdu would not like it.

From the standpoint of the Zhongdu court, I hope that the Song Dynasty will remain stable, and that the Prime Minister will always be in control of the court and maintain a tacit understanding with Duke Zhou in the north.Only in this way can Guo Ning let go of those century-old plans in Zhongdu and suppress the imperial power step by step.

So, when the Great Song Dynasty needed the imperial court of Zhongdu to send troops to contain Kaifeng, could they refuse?

In the final analysis, it's not that they want to fight against Kaifeng with an all-powerful army, it's enough to restrain them!

Eating food from the sea and holding money from the sea, how can they refuse Da Song's request?

In the next few days, Xuan Zang and Yelu Chucai had several banquets and inquired about it while they were drunk, which made this judgment more and more certain.So he specially sent someone to hire a light boat to go out of the port, and headed straight to Dinghai at the fastest speed. He sent a secret message to the Minister of the situation, and asked the Minister of History to order Huainan and Jingxi to go all out to resist the Jin army. If you want to be soft, you don't have to worry about the deterioration of the war situation.

In the secret letter, Xuan Zong asserted that although Guo Ning hadn't met yet, the general situation of the Ding Navy was as it was, and there was no way to change it.They will soon respond to Da Song's request and send troops to contain Kaifeng.And as long as they use [-] to [-] troops in the direction of Hebei West Road or Daming Mansion, and make a little gesture, the Jin army who invaded Huainan, Jingxi and other military states from Kaifeng will have only one way to retreat.

Since then, the Kaifeng court has been suppressed from the east and the south, and there is no possibility of rash actions.However, since the Zhongdu court wants to fight against Kaifeng, it cannot do without the financial support from the Song Dynasty and the blood transfusion of maritime trade. Take the initiative!
The difference is only one point.

That is when Guo Ning will meet him and decide to send troops.

This kind of delay in seeing each other is a common method used by the Song and Jin Dynasties when employing envoys. In the early years, some envoys from the Song Dynasty were detained for more than a year.

Guo Ning has not sent troops, and the Song Dynasty has to continue to entangle with the long front of the Kaifeng Jin Army in Huainan, West Beijing and other places. More than a dozen military states have been devastated by the war. This is the weakness of the Song Dynasty.Obviously, Zhongdu wants to make a fuss about this weakness.

Xuan Zong told himself, don't worry.

No matter how weak the Song Dynasty was in terms of military force, it would not be impossible to fight back. Since Zhongdu cannot do without Haimao, they may come out to talk today or tomorrow, sooner or later!Maybe, Guo Ning has already arrived in Tianjin Mansion, and he can show up at any time!
Thinking of this, Xuan Zen was distracted for a while, but was persuaded by his companion Yang Chengzhi to compose two small orders in succession.He is a doctor of imperial studies in the Southern Dynasties. He was a householder, and his level of poetry and prose far exceeds that of ordinary scholars in the north, so he has been praised by everyone.

Yang Chengzhi toasted him with admiration, Xuan Zeng's capacity for alcohol was good, he drank three glasses in a row, and everyone applauded again and again.

Xuan Zong smiled slightly, put the wine cup back on the table, cleared his throat, and was about to speak.Suddenly, the sound of galloping horseshoes was heard in the distance of the quiet garden, and it kept approaching.He calmed down, stretched his neck to look around, and saw someone dismounted from his horse on the outside of the corridor and whispered in his ear to the official on duty at the door.

Hearing the words, the official's expression suddenly became solemn, and he immediately led the man around the corridor again.The figure passed through the shade of flowers and trees continuously, and when it reappeared, it had already circled to the back of the banquet venue, and saluted Yelu Chucai, who was sitting in the chief seat, through a green gauze cabinet.

Yelu Chucai looked drunk, but when he saw the knight coming, his alcohol faded away and his expression became serious.Regardless of apologizing to everyone at the banquet, he got up directly and turned to the back of the green gauze cabinet.

Because of Sara's obstruction, Xuan Zang couldn't see the knight's appearance clearly, he only vaguely saw him kneeling on one knee, presenting a document.After Yelu Chucai read it, he held the document and went back to the waterside pavilion.

He did not take a seat, but stood still in the middle of the water pavilion.

Xuan Zeng smiled and asked: "Jin Qing, it's the time for melody and poetry, with your appearance, could it be that you have taken out your official business? Come quickly, and you will be punished with three glasses of wine according to the rules."

After saying this, there was no response.

Yelu Chucai opened the document, looked at it again, and said in a deep voice: "The man who just delivered the letter is a gentleman with a gold medal. According to the system of our court, he wears a gold medal as a proof, and he can initiate a day and night at the delivery shop for eight days. An urgent delivery in a hundred miles. This golden gentleman set off from Haizhou, and he spent two days running to death four good horses, and only then did the news about my lord arrive in time."

Xuan Zeng's drunkenness faded away, and he hurriedly asked, "What's the news?"

"Have your country fought fiercely with the soldiers and horses of the puppet dynasty in Huaidong, Jingxiang and other places for more than a month?"

"Yes, my soldiers in the Song Dynasty are well-stocked and have more than enough for self-defense. But Mr. Shi didn't want to see people die, so he asked me to make a special trip to the north, so that your side sent troops to support them, so as to solve the situation of fighting in the south."

"My lord has already agreed, no, troops have already been dispatched."

Xuan Zeng was overjoyed in his heart, he didn't show it on his face, but nodded reservedly.

He poured a glass of wine for himself, and continued to ask slightly: "Thank you for your kindness! But I don't know how many troops you sent? Where are the troops? Is the battle going well?"

"So that I can let you know that the first batch of our army to use this time is the troops of Luo Chongwei, Guo Zhongyuan, and Yin Chang, and the troops of Marshal Zuo Jianjun Liu Erzu, with a total of 4 horses; We will dispatch Zhao Jue, Han Xuan, and Shi Tianni's troops, as well as several troops from Monan Mongolia and Liaodong Jurchen, totaling [-] troops."

So many troops?Such a big deal?This Guo Ning loves Da Song too much, right?Do they have so much food and fodder?

Many questions suddenly popped up in Xuan Zang's mind, and these doubts were answered in Yelu Chucai's subsequent words.

"At this moment, our army has captured Xuzhou, Caozhou, Shanzhou, Guidefu and other places. Kaifeng's gate is open, and it is just around the corner. It depends on your army to continue to contain Kaifeng's rebellious soldiers in Huaidong, Jingxiang and other places. Ma, our army's battle situation is very smooth. If you think about it, you can wipe out the puppet dynasty and restore the territory of Dajin. At that time, we will definitely send envoys to Lin'an, and thank you for your help."

As soon as old problems go away, new ones come.

What restraint?Who is holding back?Who helped whom, and who should thank whom?
Xuan Zong was silent for a moment, then raised his head and asked, "Many constructions here in Tianjin Mansion, as well as the all-time shortage of money and food, and the urgent need for maritime trade supplies, are all fake? Are they specially made for us to see?"

"The construction is real, but there is no rush to complete it. Money, food, and military resources are indeed lacking, but there are transfers from Korea, Liaodong, Hebei, and Shandong, and there are capable ministers who are proficient in general affairs in the middle to command, and some can always be squeezed out to supply military supplies. It will not be difficult. Moreover, this is not just for you to see, it is mainly for the Jurchens in Zhongdu City... In the past six months, the Jurchens in Zhongdu have fled a lot, just let them tell the situation to Kaifeng puppet Chao, let them rest assured."

Yelu Chucai bowed slightly to Xuan Zang, and said apologetically, "It is true that soldiers never tire of cheating, and they didn't deliberately deceive your step. Bachelor, fortunately, don't blame me."

Xuan Zong let out a long breath.He stood up, wishing he could leave the water pavilion immediately to show his dissatisfaction, but he didn't dare.

While he was hesitating, Yelu Chucai took up the pen again, wrote more than a dozen official documents, and took out his own gold medal talisman letter, which made people rush to various places with the talisman letter.Obviously, the specifications of these official documents were extremely high, but those who passed on the order all shouted loudly and signed up to accept the order.

Dozens of knights with official documents ran around, arousing the response of dozens of people, even hundreds of officials.

Standing in the waterside pavilion, Xuan Zang could see cavalry teams, convoys, and a large number of soldiers and civilians rushing out of countless camps and buildings as far as Liukou and other places.In less than half a moment, teams of luggage began to be transported on all the roads as far as the eye could see.And over time, the size of these queues has grown.

How many drills does it take to respond so quickly?How well prepared do you have to be?Xuan Zeng simply didn't dare to think about it.

In the water pavilion, Yelu Chucai's voice became louder and louder:
"In addition to the two groups of soldiers and horses that went straight to Kaifeng, we also prepared a third group of troops and horses to sweep Hebei West Road and Damingfu Road from north to south. Run, Zhang Rou, Shi Tianying, and Yeluke paid Bar's troops, a total of 5 people, and they marched on two wings, taking Zhending and Daming respectively, and then went south to Wei and Jun, and finally threatened Kaifeng from the north!"

"Kaifeng imperial court? East and west two gold? It's a joke!" Yelu Chucai patted the railing, and said in a deep voice: "We have mobilized 12 people! After this battle is over, everyone in the world will know that there is only one big gold in the world." There is only one imperial court in this country!"

Xuan Zeng smiled, and wanted to say a few beautiful words on the scene.But he saw the blue sky and white clouds, and the sun was shining brightly, but he was groggy and almost couldn't stand still.

Recently, I feel that it seems that the big chapter is more refreshing...