The supply line of Liu Qi on the South Road of the Han Army was much shorter than that of Xiao Tienu on the North Road of the Han Army. In addition, the Han Dynasty has been operating in Shaanxi for a long time, and in the past few months, Liu Qi has been marching towards Xixia step by step, camping along the way, and there are no less than 100 strongholds, so the reliability of the grain road on the south road of the Han army is much better than that of the north road.

After synthesizing the news from all sides, Liu Qi also deduced that Xiao Tienu's grain and grass reserves were insufficient, and the grain route was not very reliable, so he sent troops north several times in succession, wanting to meet the Han army on the North Road. But in addition to the big nail in Lingzhou, Brother Wei Mingcha also planted many small nails between the north and south roads of the Han army. If Xiao Tienu and Liu Qi wanted to pull out these small nails first, the siege of Lingzhou would have to be delayed, and if they wanted to besiege Lingzhou first, the Han army would have to wait until after the defeat of Brother Wei Mingcha. Therefore, in the past month, Liu Qi has repeatedly sent cavalry to the north, although sometimes he can break through the blockade of Brother Wei Mingcha and exchange some news with Xiao Tienu, but it is an extremely slim thing to completely eliminate the harassment of Brother Wei Mingcha and establish a grain route between the armies of the north and south, so that the Han army can also enjoy the grain reserves of Shaanxi.

While the generals in front of them are developing strategies, the political strategies that cooperate with them are also launched one by one.

On this day, Yelu Yu saw patrolling the river as usual, but at sunset, he saw a team of military horses coming from the south, with Xia army costumes on the periphery, but a small group of Han people in the middle! He surrounded the army and horses and asked, only to know that it was the envoy of the Han court who had arrived, and he did not dare to stop them, so he let them go, and went back to the main account to inform Zong Han of the matter.

Wanyan Xiyin said: "Lord Xia and Brother Wei Mingcha sent envoys to Xiao Tienu's army to sue for peace, even if not ten times, there were nine times, but they were driven back just after arriving at Yuanmen, and they never got a reply, why did the Han people themselves send envoys this time?" ”

Gao Qingyi pondered for a long time and said, "Maybe it's because Brother Wei Mingcha and they found the wrong person." ”

"Finding the wrong person?" Wanyan Xi Yin Qi said: "Are you saying that you shouldn't go to Xiao Tienu?" Now the Han army is not bigger than Xiao Tienu in the northwest, right? ”

"When it comes to the rank of official, it is naturally Xiao Tienu who is the biggest." Gao Qingyi said: "But he is not a person who can make peace at all, so I said that Lord Xia and they found the wrong person." ”

Wanyan Xiyin said: "That's what I said, but if you don't look for him, are you looking for Liu Qi?" Hey, even if Liu Qi has plans to make peace, he can't be Xiao Tienu's master! ”

Gao Qingyi said: "I think if they take Liu Qi's road, maybe it will be faster." Although Liu Qi can't be Xiao Tienu's master, he is not as domineering as Xiao Tienu, and the Xia lord comes to sue for peace, most of him doesn't dare to drive people away without even saying hello to Tanggu like Xiao Tienu, as long as he says hello to Tanggu, hehe, maybe there is hope for peace. There may be no one in the Northwest Army who wants to make peace, but the officials of the Tanggu Imperial Court may not want to! After fighting for so long, I expect Yang Yingqi to be unable to hold on! Although Zhi Yanchong's victory in Mobei is majestic, who knows if Yang Yingqi is about to collapse? Xiao Tienu and Liu Qi marched in the cold winter, but it was not necessarily because of greed! ”

Zong Han and the others all felt reasonable, but Yelu Yu said: "We don't know whether the Han court will collapse. But this time the Han envoy came, and there must be negotiations inside. Mr. Gao, do you think this negotiation will involve us? ”

Gao Qingyi was shocked when he heard this, and said, "This ...... It's hard to say! His eyebrows were furrowed, his expression was very heavy, and after a long time, he said, "If Brother Wei Mingcha summons us to discuss how to deal with it after meeting with the messenger, it will be fine." But if he hides it from us...... Well, we're in danger! ”

The envoy sent by the Han court was Liu Cao's brother Liu Xiao, this was his second envoy to the Western Xia, the last time he came to ask the Western Xia for the matter of Li Shou, after returning to the territory, according to Yang Yingqi's arrangement, only let the deputy envoy go to Tanggu to report, and he himself stayed in Chang'an at any time. This time, an urgent official letter was sent from Tanggu to let him go on an envoy again. Liu Xiao's last envoy can be said to be worthy of his mission, and he has respected him since Qianshun and below. But after all, Brother Wei was born as a fierce general, and although he was militarily inferior, when he saw Liu Xiao, he still asked him, "Why did the Han army invade each other for no reason"?

Liu Xiao was neither humble nor arrogant, and replied: "Last time, Liu Xiao was ordered by the Han Dynasty and the Prime Minister to invite the prince of Western Xia to go to Tanggu, but he didn't know that the prince of Western Xia was now safe?" ”

Wei Mingren replied: "Lord Liu asked knowingly! I, the prince of Western Xia, how can I leave the country easily? ”

Liu Xiao said: "We naturally know this layer, so after the Emperor of the Han Dynasty conquered Mobei and returned triumphantly, he sent Marshal Xiao to lead 200,000 troops to meet the prince of Western Xia. ”

Brother Wei Ming Cha and Wei Ming Renli glanced at each other and said, "Marshal Xiao is here, is he just going to take my Western Xia Prince to Tanggu?" This sentence is to put it mildly, but it is actually exploring the bottom line of the other party.

Liu Xiao smiled slightly: "This is one of them. As he spoke, he took out a volume of documents and said: "The meaning of the prime minister is all in it, if the king of Xia and the prince of Jin can do it, they can naturally stop the war and fight peacefully." ”

Brother Wei Mingcha took the paperwork, glanced at it, couldn't help but be angry, and handed the document to Wei Mingrenli, who also felt indignant when he saw it. It turns out that in this letter, Yang Yingqi proposed seven things, which seven?

One, go to the honorific number. The Xia lord was a vassal to the Liao, Song, and Jin dynasties, and he was called the emperor in the territory, which has a long history, and the monarchs of the Liao, Song, and Jin dynasties also forbade him, but now Yang Yingqi is not even allowed to do this, and he wants to follow the example of Goryeo, and only call him the king internally.

Second, cut the territory. Only the Western Xia was allowed to stay in the Ningxia Plain for a hundred miles, and the Silk Road between Lanzhou and the Uighurs was jointly managed by the Han and Xia, and the customs duties along the trade routes were drawn according to the rules of the Han Dynasty, and the tax income was divided equally between the Han and Xia.

Three, send protons. The Western Xia must send the prince to Tanggu and be taught by a famous Chinese teacher.

Fourth, open trade routes. The Han Dynasty and the Western Xia Dynasty jointly set up customs clearance certificates, and merchants under the rule of the Han Dynasty could enter the Western Xia to do business after obtaining the customs clearance certificates, and the same was true for the Western Xia merchants.

Fifth, through talents. Under the rule of the Western Xia, the people went to the Han land to study and become a scholar, and the Western Xia government did not prohibit persecution, and conversely, the Han court did not prohibit the Han people from studying and studying in the Western Xia.

Sixth, dating hunting. Every three years, the Western Xia monarchs had to go to northern Shaanxi or Eilechuan to hunt with the Han emperor or crown prince to consolidate the suzerainty between the two sides.

Seventh, catch the thief. The outlaws under the rule of the Han Dynasty fled to the Western Xia, and the Western Xia had the responsibility to help the Han court capture and return, and conversely, the Han Dynasty would also help the Western Xia capture and return the illegal crossers.

Under the seven major events, there were also a number of small clauses, some of which were beneficial to the Western Xia, such as the Han court's promise that if the Western Xia suffered a famine, the Han court would try its best to provide assistance within its ability, and also promised to provide the Western Xia with Confucian scriptures and Buddhist scriptures to help the Western Xia popularize culture. And there is a small note under the seventh thing "catching thieves", which reads "Zonghan thieves, also the outlaws of the Han Dynasty"!

Both Wei Ming Chage and Wei Ming Renli knew that once these seven terms were agreed, Western Xia would truly and completely become a vassal state of the Han Dynasty, and if the Han Kingdom prospered, I am afraid that within a hundred years, Western Xia would naturally become a border county of the Han Empire. Therefore, they are the most sensitive to "go to the honorific number", "send protons" and "date hunting", and most of the land listed in the "Cutting Territory" is actually under the control of the Han army at this time, and it is difficult to say whether they can get it back - but once they agree, it will be difficult to regret it, so it is sad. However, according to the terms, if the Silk Road is agreed to be jointly managed, maybe it will be possible to take back Dingzhou and Keyimen, which are actually controlled by Xiao Tienu at this moment, without spending a single soldier, so as to ensure the integrity of the Ningxia Plain, which is a good thing for the Xia people. "Opening up business routes" and "connecting talents" also need to be guarded against, but in their opinion, they are secondary. As for "catching thieves", both Brother Wei Ming Cha and Wei Ming Renli thought that this clause was mainly aimed at Zong Han, but they had plans to betray Zong Han from the beginning, so they didn't take it to heart.

If these seven things are unacceptable no matter what, maybe Brother Wei Ming Cha and Wei Ming Renli will decide on the spot. But at this moment, when they were holding this document, they felt that Yang Yingqi had cut seven knives on the edge of what they could bear, and it was difficult to say whether Xia Zhu Qianshun would agree, so they all groaned after a burst of anger.

Brother Wei Mingcha didn't want to give up his prestige, so he kept silent, and Wei Mingren said to Liu Xiao: "These seven things are not only too deceitful, but also have a great stake, and we dare not make self-determination!" I also asked Lord Liu to go to Zhongxing Mansion in person and talk to my lord face to face. ”

Liu Xiao smiled and said, "This is natural." But it's better to hurry up in this matter, and I won't hide it from the two of you, the prime minister agreed to these seven things, but Marshal Xiao hasn't agreed yet. If Marshal Xiao won this battle before the prime minister's decision, then these seven things were just a piece of waste paper! ”

Wei Mingrenli's heart suddenly suddenly, and he said in his heart: "When Li Shou sent an envoy to Tanggu, he also said the same thing, but now this Liu Xiao is clearly here to take revenge!" ”

Brother Wei Mingcha snorted and said, "According to what you say, even if we agree to these seven things, Xiao Tienu will still attack?" ”

Liu Xiao said: "As long as King Xia agrees to this matter, the prime minister will be the master, and ask His Majesty the Emperor to issue an order for Marshal Xiao to withdraw his troops." However, before His Majesty's will arrives, he can only ask the Duke of Jin to ask for more blessings. ”

Brother Wei Ming Cha sneered: "When I defeat someone Xiao, who will pay attention to your seven or eight terms!" ”

Liu Xiao smiled and said: "Whether the Duke of Jin Guogong can win, Liu doesn't know. However, with the national strength of our Han Dynasty, Marshal Xiao can't make a single expedition to the west, he can have a second time, and if he can't succeed the second time, he can have a third time! But I don't know how many times can Jin Guogong resist? It is not successful, it is a big deal that Your Majesty will send one more marshal, Marshal Cao will go out of Lanzhou, Marshal Xiao will go out of Tiande, and the two-pronged approach will be lively! ”

Brother Wei Mingcha snorted heavily again and stopped talking. Wei Mingrenli stayed with Liu Xiao for one day, and the next day he quickly sent him to Zhongxing Mansion.