It is said that Emperor Zhao set out on his journey westward on the fifth day of January. Although he was traveling along what was probably the most accessible road in ancient China, and although there were military stations along the way due to the confrontation across the Yellow River, and although a small half of the accompanying troops were cavalry, he still did not arrive in Chang'an until after the Lantern Festival, and then he sat in Chang'an waiting for news from all sides.
Among them, the Jurchens' responses were concentrated in the second half of January, while the Xixia people made a nearly helpless decision as a small country at the end of January.
By the time Xixia Prime Minister Xue Yuanli and Goryeo envoy Zheng Zhichang arrived in Chang'an, it was already mid-February. Once the Xixia envoys arrived here, they just hurriedly handed over the gifts and were soon idle.
Of course, there is no restriction on their basic personal freedom within the city.
Xue Yuanli went to ask for an audience several times and questioned relevant officials several times, but the information he got was either that Emperor Zhao went for a walk outside the city, or that the emperor went to the Prince of Yan'an's mansion to visit his son-in-law and daughter-in-law, or he went to visit some famous places of interest.
The Xixia people were not anxious about this but happy instead.
The reason is very simple. The Zhao Song officials are so leisurely and the atmosphere in Chang'an is so casual. This further proves that the actions of the Zhao Song officials this time are likely to be a war blackmail, and the imagined Three Kingdoms war will not happen at all.
In fact, as the Xixia people continued to explore the city, more and more information verified Xue Yuanli's guess.
For example, not only did the Song reinforcements stop moving after entering Weinan, but even Wu Jie retreated slightly to Fangzhou after recaptured the Bao'an Army on the front line. Han Shizhong and Hu Yin also returned to Chang'an one after another... Seeing this, even the Jurchens seemed to be cursing and hesitating, wondering whether to withdraw from the Hezhong Prefecture area. Naturally, the Xixia people felt relieved.
Not only that, Xue Yuanli also found a very convincing reason to further verify that the Zhao Song government had no intention of provoking a war at this time. That was that the young Zhao Song emperor finally had a legitimate child nearly three years after the death of his only heir. Everyone in Chang'an knew that Concubine Wu and Concubine Pan, who were far away in Tokyo, had given birth to two sons for the Zhao Song emperor respectively.
The prince whose nickname was Yuan Zuo was the son of Concubine Wu, born on the third day of the second month; the prince whose nickname was De Zuo was the son of Concubine Pan, born on the seventh day of the second month.
In other words, it was probably the news of the birth of these two princes that stopped the Emperor of Zhao Song from provoking a war... After all, everyone knows that this emperor had given birth to a bunch of daughters before, and the only son had not been raised yet, so when he entered the Pass, he might not have dared to think that they were all sons. And since he had given birth to sons, given the extremely low survival rate of babies in those days and the experience of the previous heir to the throne, he would naturally have concerns from all sides.
Isn't it said that this emperor is also a Buddhist? Isn't he afraid of retribution?
"Is this the Changling Mausoleum?"
On February 19, the weather was clear. Thirty-five miles north of Chang'an City, on the north bank of the Wei River, Zhao Jiu was standing in front of two huge hills, deep in thought. "The one on the west is the tomb of Emperor Gaozu of Han, and the one on the east is the tomb of Empress Lü?"
"yes."
When the emperor went out, Yuwen Xu Zhong, who was a prime minister, had to stay in Chang'an. Han Shizhong was naturally the head of the civil and military entourage. However, Han Shizhong could not understand all this. The person who spoke was Hu Yin, the transport envoy of the five routes in Guanxi.
"What are those buildings in the middle?" Zhao Jiu was still curious.
"He was buried with the hero."
"oh?"
"From the westernmost end of the mausoleum, 14 miles east to the Jing River, all of them are the tombs of the founding heroes of the Former Han Dynasty." Hu Yin answered slowly with a blank expression. "Xiao He, Cao Shen, Zhou Bo, Zhou Yafu, Wang Ling, Ji Xin, Zhang Er, Tian Ran, Tian Sheng, etc. are all there..."
"No Zhang Liang?" Han Shizhong, who had been reading for a few days, suddenly interrupted and asked curiously.
"No." Hu Yin answered seriously. "Not only is there no Zhang Liang, but there is also no Chen Ping, no Zhu Lu, and even less Han Xin!"
Han Shizhong obviously didn't understand Hu Yin's joke, so he continued to ask: "Why not? Zhang Liang has made such a great contribution..."
"Nine out of ten, it was stolen!" Emperor Zhao, who was watching the situation at Changling with his hands behind his back, seemed to be unable to bear seeing his beloved general and relative being teased, and immediately interrupted. "What else could it be? The Green Forest and Red Eyebrows must not recognize the Han Dynasty's meritorious officials, just like the Jin army and the Heluo bandits and military thieves in the early years of Jianyan did not recognize the imperial tombs of our dynasty. Of course, they would search through them, take the pearls and jade, and scatter the bones... There are only so many of the tombs left in the dozens of miles of burial tombs, which shows that most of them were stolen and leveled."
Hu Yin nodded and said, "I think so too. For example, although there are many opinions about Zhang Liang's burial place, it is clear that Xiao He was buried in Changling. There are also various rumors about other places, which shows that many meritorious officials should be buried here. However, during the Red Eyebrows and Green Forest Incident, even Empress Lü's body was dug up. I am afraid that the bones of most meritorious officials were scattered."
At this point, Hu Yin paused for a moment, and finally revealed a mocking expression: "Even if Han Xin had ended up like him, he would have large tombs and burial mounds in various places. Isn't that ridiculous?"
All the ministers who accompanied him, whether they were not well educated like Han Shizhong, Wang De, and Li Shifu, or military generals with some knowledge like Yue Fei, Qu Duan, Liu Qi, Yang Yi Zhong, and Liu Yan, sighed.
"Do I have a mausoleum?" Zhao Jiu glanced at the group of people, feeling complicated and suddenly remembered something.
"No..." Hu Yin answered seriously. "But the Emperor Taishang Daojun had one, which was built several decades before the Jingkang period. It is in Luoyang, but there is nothing there, so it has not been dug up."
Han Shizhong and the others were fine with what he said, but several accompanying civil servants couldn't help feeling embarrassed... because Hu Mingzhong almost asked Emperor Zhao to rob the tomb of the retired emperor. Anyway, judging from the current situation, the Emperor Taishang Daojun would most likely pass away in Shaolin Temple, and there might even be a pagoda for free.
However, Zhao Jiu thought about it, and then he looked at the two big hills in front of him and shook his head repeatedly: "Thinking about these is too far-fetched. Even if the mausoleum is built into a mountain, it can't stop the descendants from losing their family business a hundred years later. What happens after death depends on one's life, two's descendants, and three's luck. We can only manage one's life. As for the virtues, merits, and words in life, I don't expect to establish virtues and words. It's more cost-effective to make some eternal achievements... Lingyan Pavilion collapsed, who can forget Emperor Taizong and the twenty-four heroes? The Later Han Dynasty fell, what about Emperor Guangwu of Han and the twenty-eight constellations? The same is true for the Former Han Dynasty. Xiao He's tomb is still there, and there are still cenotaphs in other places; Zhang Liang's tomb is missing, and various places are competing to build tombs; Han Xin's three clans , but it didn't prevent his tomb and burial mound from popping up elsewhere... So, if I can restore the merits of Emperor Gao Tang of the Han Dynasty, I will be burned to ashes and thrown into the sea after my death. Do you dare to leave my name out of the history books?"
Hu Yin still had that serious look on his face, but Han Shizhong and other military officials nodded in agreement, and the whole scene looked very harmonious.
Unexpectedly, Emperor Zhao suddenly turned around to look at the people behind him, startling the group of generals behind him: "Don't nod your heads... I'm talking about myself. As a ruler, if you have a little concept of the people of the world in your heart, you will be criticized by the world and destined to be unable to establish virtues and words, so you can only seek achievements. But being a minister is different... Isn't it good to learn from Zhuge Wuhou to establish virtues and conduct? Is the reputation of Hanzu and Tangzong better and greater than Zhuge Wuhou?"
"Your Majesty, Zhuge Wuhou is the Prime Minister." Han Shizhong was frightened by Zhao Jiu's gaze and quickly stepped forward to tease him. "Of course, that's where you gentlemen are going. How can I learn from you? It's better for me to follow your Majesty and be a Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Zhao Yun..."
Due to the order, the other military officials could not say much...they could only agree.
There is no way, who made Han Shizhong a prince?
Who can blame him for being unrivaled in the world?
Mrs. Liang gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl, which was unparalleled in the world, because they were the only relatives of the royal family! Yue Pengju was just one of them.
Therefore, Qu Duan, who had been whipped by Han, was honest; Wang De, who was convinced that his future as the commander-in-chief was ruined by Han's words, was also honest; Yue Fei, who had long passed the stage of admiring Guan Yu and Zhang Fei in his youth, was even more honest... There was no way, everyone knew why Han came back this time, which was to prevent Yue Pengju from snatching the lead as the commander-in-chief. He was the target of the Prince of Yan'an this time.
Zhao Jiu, who was dressed in plain casual clothes, glanced at Han Shizhong's face again, but finally laughed. Then he turned around again, walked forward with his hands behind his back, and the civil and military officials behind him hurriedly rushed up and chased forward under the protection of more imperial guards.
Zhao Jiu kept moving forward along the center line of the two large hills, stopping and starting, and it was obvious that he was looking for something... In fact, many followers also realized Zhao Jiu's goal. He seemed to want to find the central connecting point of the tombs of Emperor Gaozu of Han and Empress Lu.
But unfortunately, although the two mounds seem to be the same, there is actually a small difference. The mound of Empress Lu is smaller after all. At the same time, the mound of Empress Lu's tomb has probably been damaged, and its shape is somewhat incomplete. Emperor Zhao walked around but still couldn't find a perfect symmetrical point.
The civil and military officials behind him seemed to have sensed something, and there was no extra sound. Only Han Shizhong walked forward and backward with ease.
In the end, seeing that the sun was setting and it was already afternoon, Zhao Jiu finally gave up and randomly found a building in the cemetery, which was the sacrificial house in front of the tombs of Zhou Bo and Zhou Yafu, father and son, and sat down there.
"Hu Yin."
Zhao Jiu came to the front of the house, found a stone bench and sat down, then he called over Han Shizhong and said to someone with a serious look, "You have been in Guanxi for many years now, and I think you are familiar with military affairs. I want to ask you, if we follow the strategy we discussed in Chang'an before to attack Xia, do you have any key points to give me?"
Many generals and ministers including Han Shizhong were all stunned, but none of them dared to interrupt.
"Yes." Hu Yin still had a serious expression on his face, and he immediately bowed in front of the sacrificial house.
"Tell me."
"The key to defeating Xia is not the troops, not before and not this time, but the logistics."
"Well said!" Zhao Jiu was pleasantly surprised.
"To ensure proper logistics, we must have a proper route of advance. Looking at past progress, there are three proper routes: one slow, one medium, and one fast. The slow route is in Hexi, where we can take Hehuang and Hexi and cut off the arm of Western Xia. The medium route is in Hengshan, where we can attack cities and plunder villages and advance leisurely. Once we successfully attack Hongzhou and Xiazhou, Western Xia will be wide open and its vital points will be exposed. The fast route is to leave Pingxia City, follow the Hulu River, and go straight to the heart of Xingling to win in one fell swoop..."
"In short, we can't leave the vast sea no matter what, right?"
"right!"
When Han Shizhong heard this, he wanted to praise his old friend Hu Caosi for his pertinent words, and he was no longer the naive boy from Nanyang he used to be.
Unexpectedly, Emperor Zhao just continued to urge Han Shizhong, not giving him a chance to speak: "Anything else?"
"And we need cavalry!" Hu Yin continued to answer seriously. "And we must have a large number of cavalry! And cavalry has two uses. One is that the hinterland of Western Xia is blocked by mountains, deserts, and rivers. After entering the hinterland of Western Xia, the terrain is completely unfamiliar, and we need to have enough cavalry to spread out around and act as scouts to investigate the terrain. The other is that it is well known that Western Xia has a lot of cavalry, not only the six thousand Iron Harriers, but also many tribal cavalry. Since we have entered the hinterland, we must be careful that the Western Xia cavalry who came to support us will be cut off from food and grass when we station troops under the city. To deal with this situation, we must have enough cavalry to stop the Western Xia cavalry, or simply use cavalry to force the Western Xia people to fight with us in the field."
Zhao Jiu nodded repeatedly: "Anything else?"
"Yes." Hu Yin calmly replied under the slightly nervous gaze of the military officials. "We must choose a general who knows how to advance and retreat, who is more capable of calculating food and fodder, and who is not arrogant when he wins, nor discouraged when he loses... Compared with him, outstanding courage and strategy are nothing to mention."
Zhao Jiu finally clapped his hands and laughed: "When a man has been away for three days, he should be treated with new eyes. In the past, Minister Hu also knew military knowledge."
"I still don't know anything about military affairs." Hu Yin bowed his hands proudly. "What I said is just a summary of the conquest of Western Xia over the past century... In the past century, the Song Dynasty has never stopped its conquest of Western Xia, and the discussion of the conquest of Western Xia has never stopped. I will pick out the actions that have made progress over the past century and find their commonalities. I will also pick out the actions that have failed miserably over the past century and find their commonalities. Naturally, I can find some explanations... But in the end, it's just talk!"
"It's good to be able to talk about war on paper." Zhao Jiu continued to smile. "When you mentioned the commander just now, it seemed like you had something in mind?"
"Yes." Hu Yin suddenly raised his hand and pointed at Han Shizhong beside him, but his expression remained unchanged. "Your Majesty, I was just dancing with a sword like Xiang Zhuang, aiming at Pei Gong. In my words, I was actually admonishing your Majesty. The commander-in-chief of the war against Xia, the Prince of Yan'an, can be a nominal commander, but you cannot entrust him with the real vital blow, otherwise this battle will be lost!"
Han Shizhong was stunned and was about to explode, but when he saw Hu Mingzhong standing tall in front of him, looking exactly like the man who had stood in Zhugao Town on the Huai River back then, he suddenly felt scared and panicked, and he didn't even dare to interrupt or refute.
"What do you mean?" Emperor Zhao asked with a curious look on his face.
"Let the emperor know that Han Shizhong has always been arrogant and indulgent. It is his nature. He is complacent with a little achievement and regards the world as nothing. This has happened more than once or twice. He has achieved his current status only because of the emperor's indulgence." Hu Yin did not even look at the stunned Han Shizhong, nor at the many generals below Yue Fei, but spoke sternly to Emperor Zhao. "Since he saved the emperor at Yaoshan and became the Prince of Yan'an, his old illness has naturally relapsed. The emperor has granted him a double marriage and a general flag when he entered Guanzhong, which made him even more arrogant and oblivious..."
"I didn't..." Han Shizhong finally couldn't bear it anymore and quickly spoke to Zhao Jiu.
But as soon as he opened his mouth, he was met with the half-smile on Emperor Zhao's face, and his heart turned cold, and he immediately shut up.
"How come you are so carried away?" After looking at Han Shizhong, Zhao Jiu changed his position on the stone bench. He put one leg on another stone bench in front of him and started dusting off the spot.
"I only want to say one thing. The emperor had clearly made arrangements for this Xixia matter long ago, with troops, a commander-in-chief, and a deputy commander-in-chief all arranged. As a minister, he actually wanted to forcefully demand the position of commander-in-chief. This is truly treasonous!"
"I didn't!" Han Shizhong turned pale and knelt down in front of the sacrificial house. "I don't know..."
"Get up." Zhao Jiu spoke immediately, but the smile on his face disappeared at all.
Han Shizhong stood up immediately, even more shocked. As for the others, Yue Fei was speechless and expressionless; Qu Duan could not help but turned back and smiled, but quickly looked up at the sky to control his expression; Wang De didn't know what was going on and suddenly started to breathe heavily; as for Liu Qi, Li Shifu, Yang Yi Zhong and others, they just bowed their heads.
"Go on." Zhao Jiu raised his hand and gestured to Hu Yin.
"Yes." Hu Mingzhong bowed again. "I think that the emperor had made definite preparations for this westward march. It was obvious that he wanted to use Yue Jiedu as the commander, Qu Dutong and Wang Fu Dutong as his deputies to make the final strike. The Prince of Yan'an knew the military plan, but he still took the opportunity of dispatching the cavalry back to Chang'an to ask to return to the city to see the emperor and ask for the position of commander. This is one of the reasons!"
After these words were spoken and seeing Emperor Zhao nod slightly, Han Shizhong felt even colder in his heart, but Yue Fei and the others breathed a sigh of relief.
"And the emperor had already made the decision, but never made a direct announcement, apparently for the sake of the reputation of the Prince of Yan'an, the country's top general. As a result, he was blinded by greed and only took the reputation given to him by the emperor as indulgence, and kept pestering for half a month..." Hu Yin continued to speak loudly, but turned to Han Shizhong halfway. "Han Liangchen, I only want to ask you, you have been in Chang'an for half a month, if the emperor wanted you to be the commander, he would have announced it long ago, but you still haven't said it, do you really not understand or are you pretending not to understand?! Emperor, this is the second point!"
Han Shizhong opened his mouth to speak, but he was speechless and began to sweat.
"As for today, the emperor's patience is running out, and we can't stand it anymore. First, I used Han Xin to mock him, then the emperor advised him to be virtuous, and then he wasted a long time until we came to the tombs of Zhou Bo and Zhou Yafu, but he still didn't understand..." At this point, Hu Yin couldn't bear it anymore, and turned his head to face Han Shizhong again. "Prince of Yan'an, let me ask you again... Do you really not know about the relationship between Han Xin and Zhou Bo?"
Han Shizhong must have figured out what was going on at this time. His face turned pale and he went to find Emperor Zhao to explain.
But at the same time, Hu Mingzhong continued to scold:
"If it were an ordinary emperor, it would be nonsense to say that I would just kill you based on your arrogant attitude today. But at the dinner today, I directly didn't give you chopsticks. How would you deal with it?"
"The government asked you to study and cultivate your virtues, but what did you study and cultivate?!"
"It has been like this since the Huai River, and it is still like this today! Do you really think that all the affairs in the world are caused by us civil officials deliberately suppressing you military officials? That day, Prime Minister Zhao was almost shot to death by your subordinates. You really have no responsibility at all? Zhu Gao was arrogant and killed the surrendered generals wantonly. Who was he trying to show off to? Master, Meng'er, who are you talking to?!"
"The emperor promised you the title of a prince in Jingou Town. Did he break his promise? What an honor it is to be given a jade belt and a flag? Your children are only a few months old and may not be fully grown, but you promised the emperor's eldest son to marry your eldest daughter, and Princess Yiyou to marry your eldest son... This is basically to ease your worries after death, but you are still entangled here. Those who know you will naturally know that you are like this. You are used to it by promising the world first! Those who don't know, why don't they worry that you will rebel in the future?!"
"You are arrogant because of your favor! You are arrogant and disrespectful to your superiors!" Hu Yin almost gnashed his teeth when he spoke of this. Not only Han Shizhong, but all the other military officials present were horrified. "If it weren't for the emperor protecting you, and if the overall situation wasn't important, how could I be asked to impeach you in this wilderness? In Chang'an, I would have thrown my hat to the ground and even fought the Guanxi Five Route Transport Commissioner to drive you all out in public! Han Liangchen!"
"I'm calling you!" Zhao Jiu suddenly interrupted.
"Yes." Han Shizhong replied in panic, then he bowed to Hu Yin. "Brother Hu... Hu Caosi!"
"If you continue like this." Hu Yin waved his sleeves, almost in despair. "No matter how hard the emperor tries to protect you, it's useless... because Han Xin is simply seeking his own death! Zhou Bo also deserves to know the value of jailers! Study hard!"
"Of course, of course, Brother Hu, don't be angry." Han Shizhong quickly replied, and then turned to Zhao Jiu. "Your Majesty, don't be angry either. I really lost my mind."
"I'm not angry." Zhao Jiu sneered and stood up. "If I were really angry, would I let Hu Qing come and talk to you?"
Han Shizhong let out a long sigh and looked back at the other generals who were being suppressed by him, feeling a little embarrassed.
"Don't feel embarrassed." Zhao Jiu seemed to have sensed Han Shizhong's intentions. He bowed his head and walked a few steps. Suddenly, he turned back and pinched the other's hand, responding with ease. "The war is imminent. The conflicts between the monarch and his subjects, between the commander and his ministers, and between the civil and military officials should not be intensified... But these conflicts are bound to happen. Speaking them out may not be a bad thing. It's better than going to the battlefield and still holding a grudge!"
"I have absolutely no grudges." Han Shizhong quickly expressed his opinion. "Hu Caosi was right in teaching me a lesson today. I was a little confused about how to advance and retreat..."
Zhao Jiu shook the other's hand and smiled, then walked forward. After a few steps, he seemed to remember something and gave a brief instruction to Yang Yizhong, who had been silent the whole time: "We will have a dinner at the mouth of the Jing River today. Cook that dish, and ask Liu Yan to bring the Xixia envoys here to treat them to a last meal."
Yang Yizhong bowed and left, but Yue Fei beside him suddenly realized: "May I ask your Majesty, is there any talk from the west?"
"That's right." Zhao Jiu continued to hold Han Shizhong's hands and nodded frankly. "Minister Hu has already persuaded Yelu Dashi. The Khitans brought Minister Hu from Hexi Tanghuang in the name of a diplomatic envoy. When they arrived at Zhuoluo City in the north of Lanzhou, they could have come directly. But Minister Hu thought that, firstly, Yelu Dashi had a condition that we should start by attracting troops, and he wanted to urge the Khitans to go back and report and send troops; secondly, he also wanted to go to Xingling to familiarize himself with the terrain and spy on the arrangements... So he only asked people to come back to report, but he continued to follow the Khitans to Xingqing Prefecture."
Yue Fei bowed his head heavily, and the others immediately realized why they had to come out to see Changling today... Besides, Zhao Jiu had no choice but to be so leisurely in Chang'an, because they had to wait for the news from Yelu Dashi before they could carry out the next step. They were forced to do so... and Han Shizhong was even more embarrassed, because this meant that the government had tolerated him until the last moment.
Without further ado, Emperor Zhao used Hu Yin to severely dampen Han Shizhong's arrogance, decided on a strategy for Yue Fei to be the key strike, and then went to the mouth of the Jing River more than ten miles away with a group of civil and military officials. Xue Yuanli and his party in Xixia City were inevitably in a hurry. Fortunately, these Xixia people, even the civil officials, were used to riding horses, and they galloped to the mouth of the Jing River, which was forty or fifty miles away from Chang'an City, and Emperor Zhao had indeed prepared a picnic there.
Of course, chopsticks were placed on the tables of everyone, including the Prince of Yan'an, to avoid any misunderstanding.
As for Xue Yuanli and other Xixia envoys, they were half happy, half worried, half surprised, and half expectant... Being summoned suddenly, who knows what the explanation would be? I hope they are just here to enjoy the scenery.
It's very clear!
"Mr. Xue, please look, the distinction is clear!" A moment later, under the setting sun, Xue Yuanli, who met Emperor Zhao Song for the first time, was somewhat dazed when Emperor Zhao, who was incredibly enthusiastic, grabbed his hands and dragged directly to the river bank.
To be honest, if it weren't for the bright red robe and fu hat that the other person was wearing that were so eye-catching, he almost thought he was dreaming... Was he really here to enjoy the scenery?
"It is indeed a clear distinction!" Xue Yuanli tried to respond in very standard Guanxi Han dialect, but his heart was extremely alert.
What does this mean? Is it a hint that the Song Dynasty and the Great Baigao Kingdom are irreconcilable?
You should know that the upper reaches of the Jing River is called Baimachuan, and the end of Baimachuan is right within the territory of the Dabaigao Kingdom.
Unexpectedly, Emperor Zhao just held Xue Yuanli's hand and looked at the water of Jingwei River, then let go and went back to sit down under the river bank, leaving Xue Yuanli very confused... However, no matter how confused this man was, he was still the emperor of Zhao Song. Xue Yuanli did not dare to neglect him, and neither did the others. From Han Shizhong, the military officer, Hu Yin, and Xue Yuanli, the foreign officials, all sat down.
However, after sitting down, before the dishes and drinks were served, Emperor Zhao suddenly looked puzzled: "Was Jing turbid and Wei clear just now?"
"Yes." Hu Yin bowed. "Since the Jing River is turbid, the Wei River is clear..."
Xue Yuanli also wanted to join in the conversation, preparing to recite some classical poetry or something like that.
But Zhao Jiu shook his head directly, no longer pretending, but sighed directly: "The Jing River is turbid and the Wei River is clear, it's all the fault of Xixia!"
Everyone was stunned. Not to mention the civil officials such as Hu Yin, even the generals from Guanzhong such as Han Shizhong, Qu Duan, Wang De, Liu Qi and Li Shifu were shocked. Even Yue Fei, who was always of gloomy character, was shocked.
"Your Majesty!" Xue Yuanli secretly thought that it was not good, but he still stood up tremblingly to fulfill his duty. "The clearness or turbidity of this river has nothing to do with our Dabai Gao Kingdom?"
"Of course it's your business!" Zhao Jiu replied solemnly. "The clarity or turbidity of water is all due to the sediment in it. The amount of sediment entering the river depends entirely on the abundance of vegetation in the river basin... If the vegetation is abundant, the sand can be retained and prevented from entering the water. If the sand in the upper reaches does not enter the water, the river water will naturally be clear. Otherwise, the river water will naturally be turbid... The fundamental reason why the Jing River is so turbid now is that you Xixia people have built a lot of buildings in the upper reaches and reclaimed wasteland, causing soil erosion into the river."
This sounded like it made some sense... Everyone was in a daze for a moment.
And Emperor Zhao continued to speak his perverse logic: "As for the harm of turbid water, everyone knows it. The more mud and sand there are in the water, the more silt will accumulate. Once there is a lot of silt, the riverbed will rise, and it will be easy to cause floods..."
"Your Majesty!" Xue Yuanli finally lost his patience. "In the Tang Dynasty, Du Fu wrote a poem, 'When will the turbid Jing River and clear Wei River be separated?'... The turbidity of the Jing River has been a thing since ancient times. At that time, there was no Dabai Gao Kingdom. How can you blame us?"
"The Jing River in the Tang Dynasty must not have been as chaotic as it is now!" Zhao Jiu insisted. "I am not just talking about the Jing River. The biggest sin of you Xixia people is actually the Yellow River!"
"yellow……?"
"The upper reaches of the Yellow River are controlled by you, and the water of the Yellow River has become increasingly turbid since the establishment of the Western Xia Kingdom. The lower reaches have suffered disasters many times, all because of your reclamation of land and construction of cities in the upper reaches!"
"Your Majesty!" Xue Yuanli was almost sad and angry.
"Think carefully, even if the Tang Dynasty fell, it was probably related to the fact that Li Yuanhao's clan established themselves in Hetao at that time and then carried out large-scale construction projects." Zhao Jiu sighed more and more. "It was your ancestors' large-scale construction projects that caused the shortage of food in Guanzhong. If it weren't for the shortage of food in Guanzhong, how could the Tang Dynasty have declined? Hu Qing (Hu Yin) and Zhao Qing (Zhao Kai) told me before that since the large-scale renovation of Zhengbai Canal during the Daguan period, Guanzhong is no longer too short of food... But in my opinion, this kind of water conservancy project is only a temporary solution, not a fundamental solution. If the Western Xia cannot be eliminated and the water and soil in the upper reaches cannot be restored, the people in Guanzhong will not have a good life after all, and the lower reaches of the Yellow River will flood again and again!"
Hearing the word "annihilate", Xue Yuanli completely lost confidence in maintaining peace. He finally understood the meaning of being called here this time, so he simply turned away from the table:
"Your Majesty! What you said is no different from calling a horse a deer! You blame my Great Bai Gao Kingdom for the turbid water?!"
“Bold!”
"Absurd!"
"Thief!"
Many people stood up instantly at the opposite generals' table.
"Every word I say comes from my heart!" Zhao Jiu told his generals not to act pretentiously, but he remained calm and composed, as if what he said came from his heart. "As for Mr. Xue, he is just like your king, ignorant of truth and justice, so I don't care."
Besides, Xue Yuanli's words "calling a deer a horse" which he shouted at the risk of death were already a fulfillment of his duty as a minister. However, he was still a prime minister after all, so he was still very graceful, so he was still doing his best:
"Your Majesty, why do you have to pick a fight like this? Isn't it better to speak frankly about Yan'an? But Your Majesty, I have told Minister Yuwen many times before, and I will say it again today. We, the Great White Gao Kingdom, really have no intention of taking Yan'an from the Jin people... But now that the three kingdoms are fighting, Your Majesty's move is tantamount to pushing the Great White Gao Kingdom's 200,000 soldiers to the Jin people's side!"
"Where did you get 200,000 soldiers?" Zhao Jiu sneered. "The Iron Harriers are only 6,000, and the Poxi Army is only 200... But speaking of this matter, no matter what, it is proper for Mr. Xue to come to see me this time. Fifty camels and a hundred good horses are the greatest courtesy you Xixia people can show... I will give all these things to General Qu for the use of the Imperial Camp Cavalry."
Upon hearing this, Qu Duan instinctively wanted to stand up and tease the Xixia people, but unexpectedly he saw that besides the emperor, the two biggest people in the room, Hu Yin and Han Shizhong, were all looking at him, but their faces were stiff and they dared not move.
"Your Majesty, please do as you please!" Xue Yuanli waved his sleeves and sat back. "I have only one question for you now... Can you allow me to return home properly and report to the king, so as to fulfill my duty as an envoy?"
"Of course." Zhao Jiu smiled. "But I haven't finished yet... I also like that white parrot."
"As long as your majesty likes it..."
"You must know that in Tokyo, there was a Taoist priest from Shaoxing who told me a story about Chang'e in the moon, who was Houyi's wife. Because she could only eat crow noodles with soybean sauce every day in Houyi's house, she stole Houyi's elixir of immortality and ran to the moon." Zhao Jiu smiled at the ministers and Xue Yuanli. The ministers didn't understand and could only smile. Xue Yuanli's face remained cold. "He didn't mean to coax me with some elixir of immortality. He probably wanted me to be nicer to the two concubines. Later, I forgot all about the elixir of immortality in the story. I only remembered the bowl of crow noodles with soybean sauce, but I haven't eaten crow noodles with soybean sauce today... Only Mr. Xue is going back to his country, so I'd like to ask Mr. Xue to have a bowl of parrot noodles with soybean sauce to show my appreciation."
Emperor Zhao spoke slowly, and Yang Yizhong waved his hand, and indeed, a fully armed imperial guard brought a bowl of noodles with shredded pork and sauce and placed it directly in front of Xue Yuanli... Everyone was more and more stunned, not to mention the Xixia people, even several generals felt a chill in their hearts.
"Your Majesty, have you made up your mind to start a war?" Xue Yuanli suppressed his discomfort and tried his best to avoid the bowl of noodles in front of him. He then looked up at the sky and closed his eyes for a moment. Only then did he open his eyes and question reluctantly.
"I was just in Changling, and I have already appointed Han Shizhong, the Prince of Yan'an, as the commander, Hu Yin as the logistics governor, Yue Fei, Qu Duan, and Wu Jie as deputies, and sent all the troops to take Hengshan!" Zhao Jiu pointed casually. "My army is small, only a few hundred thousand!"
Upon hearing this, Han Shizhong, who had just sat down, stood up immediately, and together with Yue Fei and Qu Duan, casually bowed to Xue Yuanli from afar.
Xue Yuanli's face flushed, he lowered his head and forced himself to eat a mouthful of noodles on the table, then stood up and said goodbye. Zhao Jiu did not react at all, just letting him leave. Unexpectedly, the Xixia official could not hold back for more than a few steps, and he covered his mouth on the spot, holding the hand of the Xixia official accompanying him, and forced himself to go down the river bank in a hurry, and then he vomited for a while... But in the end, he left in a hurry without even looking back.
The people left for a long time and the banquet was silent for a long time. Han Shizhong and others wanted to say something but stopped themselves several times.
Hu Yin frowned, then asked directly, "Did the emperor kill the gift sent by others and let the envoy eat it?"
Zhao Jiu finally spread his hands: "How could I do such a thing? That parrot is so cute, I sent it to Tokyo to the Queen Mother a long time ago. I just wanted to anger the Xixia people. Besides, I didn't force him to eat it, he ate it by himself..."
Everyone then felt slightly relieved like Hu Yin... this was the familiar Emperor Zhao.
However, Emperor Zhao sighed for a moment: "I can't help it. I spoke from the bottom of my heart to show my determination to attack Xia, but he didn't believe it at all. I tried to coax him with a bowl of noodles, but he reacted like this. I can only say that this person is willing to believe that I am a cruel person... But, Zhengfu, what kind of meat is this?"
Everyone went to see Yang Yizhong again.
Yang Yizhong had no choice but to tell the truth: "The emperor's order was urgent, and I was in a hurry. I had to take people to shoot a few crows from Changling... It was crow noodles with soybean paste."
Emperor Zhao's heart was pounding.