Fenghou

"What position did the official agree to?" Lu Yihao also asked frankly.

"It depends on who Lu Gong recommends, like your younger brother Lu Datong. He was dismissed for a crime. It may be difficult, but Qingshan can do it. I also know that Qingshan is smart and capable, honest and self-disciplined. I am more inclined to him."

"Can Qingshan be photographed?"

Zhang Jun also knew that Lu Qingshan's qualifications were sufficient, and it was understandable that Lu Yihao wanted him to be a prime minister. He pondered for a while and said: "The official means that if it is Lu Qingshan, he can be qualified for the prime minister, but he will not be a prime minister for now, and he will be the prime minister first." Minister of household department."

Lu Yihao understood what the other party meant, and gave him the qualification to be a prime minister. Not being a prime minister for the time being is to add the title of Pingzhangshi under the Zhongshumen, but he will not be a political advisor.

But now the Zhizheng Hall only has Qin Hui, Zhang Jun, Zhao Ding, and Xu Xiantu, and there is still one person missing. Although Zhe Yanzhi is appointed as a member of the Tongzhi Privy Council, his qualifications are not enough, so he has not been admitted. Since Qingshan has already joined Zhongshu It's a matter of peace under the door, why should he wait and not directly enter the picture?Lu Yihao looked at Zhang Jun in puzzlement.

Zhang Jun smiled and said: "This is actually the third thing I want to talk about, the negotiation between Chen Qing and Jin Guo to return the former prince, Mr. Lu should know about it!"

Lu Yihao was silent for a while and said: "I heard that this should not be his original intention."

"The officials were very angry when they heard about this incident. It can be said that they were outraged, but I explained to the officials that if they did not go through the court, even if the former prince was exchanged, the court would not admit it. The exchange would become meaningless. I also believe that Chen Qing is not so stupid, Chen Qing must have other intentions in doing this, the officials want to know, what exactly does Chen Qing mean?"

Lu Yihao sighed and said: "You are quite right. If the imperial court does not recognize it, it would be meaningless for him to return to the former crown prince. Instead, it would attract hostility from the imperial court. With his wisdom, he would not do such a stupid thing. I think he has other intentions."

"What does Mr. Lu think Chen Qing intends?"

"I think he has two intentions. One is to prepare for the attack on Xixia and prevent Jin Guo from sending troops to interfere in Xixia. He may use negotiations to test how much Jin Guo attaches to the two royal families. If Jin Guo attaches great importance to it, then Jin Guo The country will cast a mouse;

Second, if he wants to exchange property with the Kingdom of Jin, it is enough to use Jurchen soldiers. I think he wants to use these two Jurchen royals to make a deal with the imperial court. The exchange of the former prince is just to stimulate the imperial court and make the imperial court aware of these two people. importance. "

Zhang Jun secretly exaggerated, Jiang is worthy of being old and hot, he only saw the second point, but did not think of the first point, it was indeed to test the Jin Kingdom, with these two royal families in hand, the Jin Kingdom would support Xixia. Don't dare to be so ostentatious.

"What does Mr. Lu think Chen Qing wants?"

Lu Yihao smiled slightly and said: "In the officialdom, all you want is fame, wealth and power. Chen Qing is not short of money or power. The only thing he lacks is fame. He seized Shaanxi Road, and the title should go further, but the imperial court If he just changed from Jing Guogong to Qin Guogong, does Zhang Xianggong think he will be satisfied?"

"Is Feng Wang too tall?"

"But Tong Guan already has a precedent."

Zhang Jun understood in his heart that Chen Qing should have told Lu Yihao about this matter, Chen Qing's deal was most likely to exchange two royal families of the Jin Kingdom for the prince.

"Actually, this is the reason why Aoyama didn't directly enter the prime minister. Once the negotiations between the imperial court and Chen Qing are completed and the relationship between the two parties stabilizes, Qingshan acts as a stabilizer. Perhaps the officials will consider him as the prime minister. The officials have already decided to send Orihiko Jing Zhao and Chen Qing negotiate."

"I see, thank you Zhang Xiang for the announcement."

Zhang Jun got up to leave and left, while Lu Yihao sat on the chair and meditated silently. At this time, Lu Qingshan walked in quickly and asked in a low voice, "Why did Mr. Zhang come here?"

Lu Yihao said for a long time: "The government has decided to appoint you as the Minister of the Household Department, with the title of Jiaping Zhangshi. Whether you can be appointed as the Minister of Political Affairs depends on the situation in the northwest!"

……

Zhang Jun hurried back to the palace, Zhao Gou was still waiting for his news!

"Want the prince?"

Zhao Gou frowned, "I have made him the Duke of Qin, isn't he satisfied?"

Of course Zhang Jun knew that the prince was more sensitive, and it was unlikely that the emperor would agree. The title system in the Song Dynasty was different from that in the Tang Dynasty. The title system in the Tang Dynasty could be hereditary, but not in the Song Dynasty. Different surnames cannot be crowned kings, and are generally posthumously crowned.

However, there are special cases for those who were crowned kings during their lifetime. For example, their relatives were crowned kings. Xiang Zongliang and Xiang Zonghui, the two brothers of the queen mother, were crowned kings of the county. It is Tong Guan, because Song Shenzong has a decree that whoever captures Yanshan Mansion can be crowned king.Tong Guan occupied Yanshan Mansion, which had been looted by the Kingdom of Jin, and was named King of Guangyang County.

This is a special case of four kings with different surnames in Song Dynasty so far. Chen Qing wants to become the fifth king with a different surname. Will the officials agree?Zhang Jun was really not sure.

Zhao Gou said coldly: "If I make him the county king and he wants a prince, and if I make him a prince again, he still wants my throne, will I give it to him too?"

Speaking of this, Zhang Jun was speechless. He suddenly felt that he was tired of being a peacemaker. Why not be like Qin Hui and follow the temperament of the officials. What do the officials want to hear?Sheji Jiangshan is none of my business.

But since he is Xiangguo, he has to say something, this is his duty, if he doesn't say it, no one will dare to say it again.

"Your Majesty, I am definitely not speaking for Chen Qing. My thoughts and concerns are all for the sake of your majesty's country and society. The reason why I persuade your majesty to think about it is because Chen Qing already has the strength to become a king. I am afraid of him. If he proclaims himself king, what should the imperial court do? Should he admit it while pinching his nose, or declare him a rebel and call on the world to punish him? Will Chen Qing proclaim himself emperor at that time, colluding with the Kingdom of Jin to carve up the Song Dynasty?"

Zhao Gou was furious and slapped the table, "Presumptuous!"

Zhang Jun knelt down, with tears streaming down his face, he said: "Your Majesty, if the humble officials don't say anything about the benefits, no one in the government and the public will dare to say anything about it."

Zhao Gou stood there for a while, and finally sat down. After a long time, he waved his hands and said, "Forget it, I will consider making him king after he destroys Xixia."

……

That night, Zhao Gou decreed to appoint Lu Qingshan as the Minister of the Household Department, the title of Jiaping Zhangshi, and promoted to Jin Ziguanglu Doctor. At the same time, Lu Wen, the eldest son of Lu Yihao, was appointed as the general judge of Yuezhou.

In addition, Zhe Yanzhi, a member of the Privy Council, was appointed as the special envoy of the emperor, and went to Jingzhao to discuss and jointly attack the Xixia plan.

Chapter 653

Lanzhou has gathered 20 troops, including 50 cavalry alone, [-] shi of grain, nearly one million dans of forage, and countless military supplies.

The reason why Chen Qing attacked Xixia from Lanzhou was mainly to consider using the Yellow River to transport food and supplies. Ten years ago, in order to attack Xihe Road, Xixia mobilized 50 civilians to dig a military road along the Yellow River. It is about two feet long, and it is very strong. It can be walked on horses and carts. It is hundreds of miles long, starting from Mingsha County in the hinterland of Xixia, and directly arriving in Lanzhou.

In addition, Xixia and Song armies have been at war for a hundred years, spending a lot of manpower and material resources to build hundreds of dangerous passes, large and small, at various passes in Hengshan, all of which are easy to defend and difficult to attack. A heavy price must be paid for these centuries-old passes.

Therefore, based on various considerations, Chen Qing finally chose Lanzhou as an important logistics location for dispatching troops. In this way, he successfully avoided the dangerous pass that Xixia had operated for a hundred years, lost the burden of history, and moved forward lightly.

But it is not easy to attack Xixia even from Lanzhou. One is that the journey is too long, and it takes thousands of miles to gradually approach the hinterland of Xixia.

Secondly, the Xixia army will not stand still, they will definitely gather heavy troops along the way to intercept the Song army and occupy favorable terrain.

With the tenacity and tenacity of the Xixia army, and they are located at home, it is definitely an extremely difficult task and a long process to destroy the country of Xixia.

For Chen Qing, his combat strategy has always been a combination of righteousness and oddness. In addition to the normal dispatch of the main force, there must also be an assistant of odd soldiers.

This afternoon, Chen Qing had already left Jingzhao and was on his way to Lanzhou. He was accompanied by [-] large ships carrying [-] barrels of kerosene, and [-] cavalry escorted on the shore.

Chen Qing's trip to Lanzhou this time was not for inspection, but to implement his first step in the Xixia strategy. His combat preparations had been completed, the defenses in various places were also in place, and the time to attack Xixia was fully ripe.

Chen Qing stood on the bow of the first big ship with his hands behind his back, followed by more than [-] soldiers and five civil servants, among them were Chao Qing and Zhong Huan, who will also participate in the war against Xixia this time. It made them very excited.

Of course, the inner guard also mobilized five hundred elites to accompany them, and they were deployed on the shore, ready to hunt and kill the wolves who moved after hearing the news.

This was also one of Chen Qing's goals. He made a high-profile trip to use himself as a bait to lure the assassins outside and eliminate them.

At this time, Wang Hao, the commander of the internal guards, stepped forward quickly and said: "Report to Dutong, I received a quick letter from my subordinates. They found that many people were following the ship, and my subordinates did not alert the other party."

Chen Qing looked at the sky, it was already dusk, and the red sun was slowly setting in the far west.

"Where are you now?"

"It has now entered Chencang territory, and it is still forty miles away from Chencang County."

Chen Qing nodded, "Pass on my order, the fleet will dock, camp and rest on the spot, and leave at dawn tomorrow!"

The trackers pulled the cables and pulled the big boats to the shore. The cavalry began to set up camp tents, and the soldiers were busy cooking.

At this time, twenty miles away from where the fleet berthed, a team of 300 Heijintang warriors stopped in a forest, waiting patiently for the dark.

Xixia's intelligence station got inside information. This time Chen Qing went to Lanzhou for two months. It would not take such a long time if it was just for inspection. This is obviously an offensive against Xixia.

Under the oppression of a strong sense of crisis, Murong Wenshu decided to give up the plan to assassinate in the mansion and instead assassinate in the wild on the road. Although it was very difficult, they had no choice.

At this time, one of his subordinates rushed over to report, "I would like to report to the hall master, the fleet has been stationed, and it is twenty miles away from us. The spies from the tracker's side sent news that Chen Qing was on the first big boat. As far as I can see, I didn’t disembark.”

Murong Wenshu nodded. Tonight is their last chance. When Chen Qing arrives in Chengji County tomorrow, he must ride a horse or a camel instead. That is their last chance.

"Order the brothers to rest on the spot, and we will set off at the first watch!"

……

As night fell, Chen Qing sat in the main cabin and checked the large map. He drew a circle on Yingli County on the map. Yingli County is located [-] miles west of Mingsha County, where the Yellow River enters the Ningxia Plain. It becomes very wide. There are nine ferries here that can cross the Yellow River, so it is called the Nine Degrees of the Yellow River. More importantly, Yingli County is also a large logistics city for the Xixia Army. It was built to be used as a logistics city, so the city is strong. Tall, easy to defend and difficult to attack, it is an ideal bridgehead for attacking Xixia.

The first battle against Xixia was to win this bridgehead, otherwise everything would be out of the question.

But how easy is it to win this bridgehead?According to the news from the scouts, Xixia deployed at least [-] troops along the western military road to intercept them, especially [-] troops were deployed at Shatuoguan, [-] miles west of Yingli County, where the terrain is very dangerous. The pass city is easy to defend and difficult to attack. It can be said that one man guards the pass, and ten thousand men cannot open it.

Zhang Xiao, who was sitting opposite, pointed to the Hulu River on the map with a wooden pole, and said with a smile, "The key is here. When does the Xuan Fu envoy think they will arrive?"

Chen Qing shook his head and said, "I don't know either, I just hope that when I arrive in Lanzhou, they will arrive too!"

This time, 20 troops assembled in Lanzhou, and most of the military headquarters moved to Lanzhou. Sima Zhang Xiao also followed Chen Qing. He was not only the chief officer of the military department, but also Chen Qing's military adviser in the conquest of Xixia.

At this time, Wang Hao walked in quickly and said: "Report to Dutong, the other party has already left, and the humble officer is ready to collect the net!"

Chen Qing nodded, "What action is Jin Guo making?"

Wang Hao shook his head, "So far, the underlings have not found any assassins from the Kingdom of Jin, but Li Toutuo is still in Jingzhao, and there has been no movement. I suspect that they have a tacit understanding with Hei Jintang. This time when all Hei Jintang is dispatched, they will not Come to this muddy water."

Chen Qing glanced at him meaningfully and said, "Do you still believe in Li Toutuo?"

Wang Hao was taken aback, he hesitated and said: "I don't quite understand the lowly position, please clarify clearly!"

Chen Qing smiled and said: "You underestimate the other party too much. Jin Guo has been hiding for a year and has not been discovered by the inner guards. How can they be easy to deal with? Lin Jianqing and Li Toutuo are just tricks thrown by the other party , let’s focus on them, the intelligence chief of the Kingdom of Jin is actually someone else.”

Speaking of this, Chen Qing walked to the window and looked at the faintly visible Chencang County in the distance, and said indifferently: "This is called Mingxiu plank road, crossing Chencang secretly!"

"Ah!" Wang Hao opened his mouth in shock, unable to say a word for a while.

Zhong Huan's face was flushed, and now he realized that Li Toutuo's use of Lin Jianqing was a trap from the beginning, and the real mastermind behind the scenes used the relationship between Li Toutuo and Lin Jianqing to attract them all, so how stupid he was.

Zhong Huan stepped forward and bowed: "It's a humble and stupid person who fell into the opponent's trick!"

Chen Qing smiled and said: "You are not stupid, but the other party is smart, but if you don't fall for the other party's tricks, how can I let the other party fall for my tricks?

If I guessed correctly, the Kingdom of Jin would definitely defend the east bank of the Yellow River on a large scale, and Xixia must have thought that Liu Qiong and Tang Qian's [-] troops went northward to attack Hedong and restrain the Jin soldiers from reinforcing Xixia. "

Wang Haoruo realized something, "Could it be that the Kingdom of Jin really has spies lurking around Dutong?"

Chen Qing nodded, "A person you would never have thought of!"

Chapter 654 Killing

Murong Wenmu led [-] black-clothed warriors to rush through the woods until they arrived at an open area, which covered tens of acres. Halfway through, Murong Wenmu suddenly raised his hand, "Wait a minute Wait!"

The three hundred black-clothed warriors stopped one after another, Murong Wenmu looked at the surrounding sky suspiciously, just now he couldn't see the sky because it was blocked by tree branches, but now he can see clearly, there are many birds in the sky, but when they were running just now, I didn't hear the sound of the birds flying, "No, there is an ambush, retreat!"

Murong Wenmu yelled, it was too late, there was a sound of clappers around, arrows were fired from all directions, the black warrior was caught off guard, screamed, and was shot to death in an instant, followed by another burst of arrows, the arrows were too dense , even if the Heijintang warriors have martial arts skills, they can't dodge it. After a round of random arrows, there is no standing warrior anymore. Even the hall master Murong Wenmu was hit by dozens of arrows, and fell on his back, staring at the sky with death.

Of course he did not die with peace in his eyes. He had been in Xixia for 20 years. He came to Guanzhong and wanted to make great contributions to Xixia, but he didn't even see Chen Qing's shadow, so the whole army was wiped out, and the notorious Heijintang was wiped out.

The [-] crossbowmen who shot them came to Chencang County to wait two days ago, and the [-] elite inner guards were among them. They rushed out and killed all the dozens of black-clothed warriors who pretended to be dead. Also put to death.

On the bow of the boat, Chen Qing shot an arrow, only to hear a scream on the water, a black shadow slowly floated up on the water a hundred paces away, an arrow pierced his forehead, and then another black shadow emerged from the water. He floated up in the water, swam desperately, and couldn't swim more than ten steps. Chen Qing shot his second arrow, and the powerful arrow pierced the back of the man in black's neck. The last two warriors in the hall, they were lurking in the water and were responsible for observing the movement of Chen Qing's boat, but they were finally hunted down by Chen Qing.

The cavalry stationed on the shore rushed over one after another, firing arrows at the water, but no one floated up after being hit by the arrows.

In the cabin, Chao Qing and Zhong Huan were stunned, especially Zhong Huan, he is a master of archery, but now he realizes that his archery is not at the same level as that of Xuan Fushi, and he didn't even notice anyone on the water. Moreover, in the water a hundred paces away, he shot an arrow in the forehead in the dark night, this kind of arrow technique made him amazed.

"Now you all know how powerful the envoy is!" Zhang Xiao walked forward with a smile in his hand, holding a cup of tea.

Zhong Huan nodded, "Xuan Fushi's arrow skills are far beyond my reach!"

Zhang Xiao laughed, "Didn't I talk about the archery technique, weren't you guys at the side when Wang Hao reported at night?"

Chao Qing sighed: "Indeed, everyone was deceived by that Li Toutuo, but the envoy Xuan Fu saw him through."

Zhang Xiaowei smiled and said: "It's really nothing. You will be able to see through it when you have experience in the future. Lin Jianqing is such a stupid person who exposed everything. The Jinbing spies must use him to divert our attention, but Xuanfu envoy The strength of Xuanfu is not here, but the strength of the Xuanfu envoy is to make a game, use the mobilization and assembly of 20 troops to make a game, this kind of courage, no one in the world can match."

"Sima, can you explain a little more clearly?"

Zhang Xiao shook his head, "You will understand soon!"

……

It was accidental but also inevitable that the inner guards discovered the Heijintang warriors. It must be Chen Qing who asked the inner guards to expand the scope and also pay attention to the counties in Jingzhao, but it must be the Heijintang warriors who gathered urgently. 300 people came to Xianyang County from all over the country , Although they used the night, such a large target was of course discovered by the inner guards.

At dawn, hundreds of inner guard soldiers who returned from Chencang came directly to the big inn in Xianyang, arrested the innkeeper Li Lu and all the staff, and then followed the innkeeper Li Lu's instructions, and began to search and arrest the Xixia five in the whole city of Jingzhao. information points.

At Wanxi Restaurant on Zhuque Avenue, a tall, thin man wearing a bamboo hat got into the carriage, and the carriage immediately set off, heading south. Immediately, an old man riding a donkey followed the carriage leisurely, and at the same time , In a courtyard behind Wanxi Restaurant, Li Toutuo left through the back door.

Li Toutuo shuttled around in the cobweb-like alleys, and finally walked from an alley to the East Street, which is three miles away from Wanxi Restaurant. He stopped a bullock cart, and the bullock cart headed for the poor area of ​​Nancheng ...

A quarter of an hour later, Li Toutuo walked into a dilapidated foot shop, walked through the back door, and came to an alley. At the end of the alley was a compound covering an area of ​​two acres. He knocked rhythmically a few times. The door, the wooden door opened a crack, and Li Toutuo slipped in.

Walking into the lobby of the back house, Li Toutuo knelt down on one knee, "See Director Jin for the humble job!"

There was only a very fat middle-aged man sitting in the lobby, his eyes slowly opened a crack, and he said coldly: "You shouldn't come here!"

"The humble official has urgent news to report to Manager Jin."

"Hmph!" The obese man snorted, "You violated the rules!"

Li Toutuo's face turned pale with fright, and he kowtowed again and again, "I know my mistakes! I don't dare to do this again."

"Forgive you one last time, remember, you are not in charge of information, if you dare to report information to me next time, I will kill you!"

"Remember the humble job!"

"Speak! What are you going to report to me?"

"All the Xixia intelligence points have been taken, starting from Xianyang County, and none of them have been missed. It should be his supervisor who confessed."