Xiao Tiancheng was a smart man and had a certain judgment on the Song Dynasty.

His judgment was that the young little emperor had just become pro-government and was desperate to perform, so he revived the 'New Party', implemented various reforms, and cut taxes on a large scale, and insisted on waging war with the Western Xia, so that the entire Great Song Dynasty was in chaos and did not stop.

Coupled with the recent incident of 'borrowing money and making money', it is even more determined that Zhao Xu is a person who is very happy, and in a short period of time, the rich Song Dynasty has made the treasury empty like this!

What Xiao Tiancheng wants is actually simple, he doesn't need Song Xia's assistance, he just needs that Xixia will not fight with the Great Song Dynasty this year, once the rebels lose the control and concerns of Western Xia, they will inevitably go all out to deal with Liao, and Liao needs to quell the rebellion in the northwest, rather than endlessly consuming!

……

Early the next morning, when Xiao Tiancheng was dressed and went out, he got the news.

Before he got into the carriage, a subordinate said in a low voice: "Squire, there is news from Chen Huan, he has contacted a few people, and he will jointly write today." ”

Xiao Tiancheng was a little surprised and surprised, and said with a smile: "His movements are quite fast, okay, I'll go to the mountains and rivers today." ”

The sturdy young man was driving, and he understood that the so-called 'touring the mountains and rivers' was actually putting pressure on the Song court.

When Xiao Tiancheng went out of the city to play, Zhang Dian and Zhang Qi rarely appeared outside the vertical arch hall.

Chen Pi hurriedly came out, looked at the two prime ministers, and said, "The two prime ministers, is there anything going on early in the morning?" ”

Zhang Qi's face was cold, and he said: "There is a change in Liao, we are going to see the official family immediately, has the official family risen?" ”

Chen Pi hesitated, and before he could speak, suddenly there was a noise in the west room not far away.

Zhang Dian raised his eyebrows and said, "What are the officials still fiddling with?" Didn't stop all night? ”

Zhang Qi's hair on his temples was windless, and his expression became more and more serious.

Chen Pi smiled and said, "Wait a minute, the two prime ministers, I'll go and report it." ”

As he spoke, Chen Pi walked to the west side room.

The second chapter did not hesitate, and then followed, and saw Zhao Xu in the room in front of the door, covered in mud, with his face and hair, and the whole person seemed to crawl out of the mud, very embarrassed.

At this time, Zhao Xu also noticed that he looked at a few pieces of plaster in front of him and poked them with his hands, some were soft and some were brittle, but they didn't have the kind he wanted.

"Strange, the various formulas should be right, is it the wrong material, or the process? Generally speaking, it should have a certain hardness in three or two days, and it shouldn't be ......"

Zhao Xu pondered deeply and couldn't figure it out.

The role of cement is undoubted, especially in the Great Song Dynasty, it is of great use in civilian use, and even more so in the military.

At this time, Chen Pi saw the stitches, walked in quickly, waited for a while, and said in a low voice: "Official, the two ministers are here." ”

Zhao Xu raised his head, saw Zhang Qi, and suddenly opened his mouth and said: "Zhang Qing's family, the weapons supervisor is testing gunpowder, and it is said that there are a few good weapons, how powerful is it?" ”

Zhang Qi was stunned, walked in, and saluted: "The minister has seen the official family." The Ordnance Superintendent has regularly reported to the Ministry of War and the Privy Council, and there has indeed been a lot of progress so far. ”

Zhao Xu's eyes lit up, and he said with some surprise: "Chen Pi, move the stool, and the two Qing family will sit down and talk carefully." ”

He didn't make progress like this, and if there was progress in firearms, it wouldn't be bad.

Chen Pi moved a stool, and Erzhang sat down.

Zhang Ji followed the conversation and said: "Official, the first one is the Divine Arm Crossbow, this bow can penetrate the iron armor three hundred steps away, and it is very powerful, and it is very useful for defending the city and attacking the city." In addition, there is also a bed crossbow, with a range of 100 zhang away. In terms of gunpowder, there is a thunderbolt fireball, which is wrapped in gunpowder and thrown out by hand, adding iron nails, arsenic, etc., which is really powerful. There are also some firearms that are tested with wood and bamboo, which can breathe fire, can fire and so on......"

Zhang Qi didn't seem to care so much about firearms, and he didn't seem to be able to grasp the point in a fragmentary way.

Zhao Xu listened very carefully and nodded secretly.

The Ordnance Bureau has done something, but a big breakthrough is still needed in the use of gunpowder.

"It seems that I have a lot of things to do, this little home remedy is not enough, why don't you build a laboratory for myself in Tai......xue?"

Zhao Xu muttered to himself in his heart, there are pros and cons to this.

Quietly glanced at the two in front of him, thinking that if he wanted to do this, these two would definitely not agree.

"Your Majesty, please also take a break."

Sure enough, as soon as Zhao Xu muttered in his heart, Zhang Xuan bowed down and said.

Zhao Xu smiled and said, "I know." The Privy Council should pay attention to the matter of firearms, which is becoming more and more powerful, and will certainly be of great use in the future, and should not be underestimated. ”

Zhang Qi said: "Yes, the minister wrote it down." The official family, the Liao State has changed. ”

Zhao Xu suddenly sat up straight, his expression was a little colder, and said, "What is the change?" ”

As he spoke, he looked at Chen Pi.

Chen Pi shook his head and said, "There is no report." ”

Zhao Xu looked at Zhang Qi more and more solemnly.

Zhang Qi thought about it carefully and said: "It is a flying pigeon from Hebei Road, and there is a team of Liao cavalry crossing the border, which seems to be scouts or forwards. ”

Zhao Xu understood a little, nodded lightly, and looked thoughtful.

The news of the Imperial City Division and Qingtianwei was not earlier than Zhang Qi, indicating that this was an emergency, and it was a 'secret event' that happened in a corner, and it was not captured by the Imperial City Division and Qingtianwei.

Does Liao really have the spare strength to go south?

Zhao Xu slowly scrutinized in his heart, and looked at Zhang Xuan.

Zhang Duan had already had a draft, bowed down, and said in a deep voice: "The official, in the opinion of the minister, if the Liao State has the ability to go south, it will definitely not react like this. Xiao Tiancheng's attitude was a little weird, mostly a bluff. ”

Zhao Xu gently wiped his hands, his eyes shining.

His inner judgment is similar to that of Zhang.

If the Liao State has the ability to go south, the Great Song Dynasty will kill the Liao envoy like this, and the Great Liao, which regards itself as the 'Heavenly Empire' and the suzerainty of the Song and Xia Dynasty, is definitely not the reaction now.

Contacting Song Chen like this, coercing with force outside, and using both prongs?

Zhao Xu thought about this in his heart, and then thought about the things behind it.

If this is the case, it means that the situation in Liao is indeed very bad.

Zhao Xu pondered for a long time and said, "Chen Pi, I ordered Qing Tianwei to carefully collect the situation in the Liao Kingdom, especially the rebels, and I want more information." ”

"Yes." Chen Pi said quietly.

Zhao Xu looked at Zhang Qi again and said: "The front line must not be slack, and I will be stared at at at twelve o'clock, whether they are bluffing or Gu Bu's maze, I must not give Liao a chance!" ”

Zhang Qi said: "Yes." The minister has made arrangements before, and will adjust it again to ensure the stability of Hebei Road. ”

Zhao Xu bowed his head slightly, then narrowed his eyes, and said, "Think about it again, can you contact the rebels in the Liao Kingdom and provide them with some help, tactical guidance, and military assistance." ”

The second chapter immediately understood Zhao Xu's intentions, Zhang Qi thought carefully, shook his head slightly, and said: "Official, the rebels of the Liao State are hiding in the northwest, too far away from my Great Song Dynasty, and the whip is out of reach, I'm afraid it will be difficult to get in touch." ”

Zhao Xu smiled and said, "Try it, it's best to get in touch." ”

"Yes." Zhang Qi said.

Zhao Xu silently calculated in his heart, he knew limited about the current situation in Liao, he only knew that the rebellion in the northwest of Liao was caused by the tribes of 'Guza, Dariday, Ba'enmu', etc., and laid the collapsed ridge, and the approximate location was Erenhot in Inner Mongolia in later generations, and these three tribes, that is, the Mongolian tribes, were constantly rebelling because they were oppressed by the Liao State.

Moreover, the forces of the three tribes have won and lost, and their momentum is getting stronger and stronger.

The Great Song Dynasty was too far away from them, and there was still Western Xia and Tibet in between.

Seeing that Zhao Xu was not panicked, Zhang Xuan changed his mind, and his heart was a little relieved, seeing that Zhao Xu was covered in mud, and there was mud and sand all around, a strange smell, and said quietly: "Official, Liaoxia is not to worry about for the time being, and the current 'new law' is still important." The pilot project in Kaifeng Prefecture has been promoted quite smoothly. The inventory of households is already being carried out in an orderly manner, and it will be completed in three months, and by the end of the year, it should be possible to redivide the land......"

Zhao Xu looked at Zhang Dian and said in a deep voice: "For Liaoxia, our attitude should be: strategically, despise them; Tactically, value them. ”

Zhang Qi was stunned, carefully savored the two sentences, and immediately bowed down and said: "The holy hadith is extremely true. ”

Zhangdun's face remained as usual, and he said, "The minister respectfully obeys the hadith. ”

Seeing that they were suddenly so serious, Zhao Xu waved his hand and said, "Regarding the pilot project of Kaifeng Mansion, it is indeed good, but we also have to see the real situation inside." At the end of the year, I can divide the land, I am not so optimistic, the key now is in the low-level officials, this must be grasped well, bad things, often bad here. The law should be strict, not only for the gentry and the common people, but also for ourselves. ”

Zhang Dian said solemnly: "Yes." ”

Zhao Xu thought about Kaifeng Mansion, thinking in his heart, he had to find time to continue looking, turned to Zhang Qi, and said: "Xu Shangshu went to the place, 'military reform' should be able to take another step forward, or the same sentence, 'stability' first." The number of officials cannot be increased, nor can the Xiang army, the selection of the forbidden army must be selected from the Xiang army, and new recruits must also be trained, the military law must be strict, and the stragglers are brave, and they will flee when they see the wind, and I will never allow it to appear again! ”

Zhang Qi said in a deep voice: "The minister's decree." ”

The 'military reform' of the Great Song Dynasty has always been a top priority, but it is too complicated and requires care and time to sort it out.

The 'new local system' has been initially established and is still being deepened, and the same is true of the 'military reform'.

The three of them were talking about things, and not long after, a yellow door came in, handed Chen Pi a few notebooks, and whispered a few words.

Chen Pi waved his hand, came to Zhao Xu, and said in a low voice: "Official, more than a dozen courtiers have jointly signed a script, asking the imperial court to negotiate peace with Liaoxia to stop the war." ”

Zhao Xu waved his hand, didn't look at it at all, and said to Zhang Qi: "The rise of the Liao State is not a bad thing, you can take a good look at the achievements and gains and losses of our 'military reform'." ”

Zhang Qi thought for a while and said, "Yes." ”

Zhao Xu was just about to speak, when a yellow door came in and whispered in Chen Pi's ear.

Chen Pi frowned, waved him away, came to Zhao Xu's side again, and said in a low voice: "Official, the household department is making money today." ”

Zhao Xu sighed, and then said with a smile and the second chapter: "Today, something must happen, go, eat with me, and then let's go and see?" ”