Lanzhou, known as Jincheng in ancient times, means "Jincheng Tangchi", since the establishment of the county in the Qin Dynasty, it has a history of more than 2,000 years, and it is a transportation hub and military fortress that connects the four regions and brings thousands of miles since ancient times. Thanks to the Silk Road, Lanzhou has become an important transportation artery and an important commercial port.

But even so, because of its mountains, the invasion of Tibet, and the mutual attacks of the Song and Xia dynasties, Lanzhou, which is located on the east side of the Yellow River Valley, is not valued by all parties.

After the middle of the Tang Dynasty, Lanzhou was repeatedly occupied by Tuchu. In the third year of Song Renzong's Jingkuan (1036), Li Yuanhao, a party item, defeated Tuchu and occupied Hexi and Lanzhou. In the fourth year of Yuanfeng (1081), the Song Dynasty took advantage of the civil strife in Western Xia, transferred troops to attack Xia, and recovered Lanzhou. Since then, Song and Xia have crossed the river to the island.

The Jin army went south, and broke the Song people's western army in Shaanxi, but was severely defeated by the loyal army, and under heavy losses, it retreated to the north, and Shaanxi was placed under the rule of the loyal army from the south of the Qinling Mountains.

After coming to Lanzhou as the chief official for less than two years, Zhang Hao was diligent and diligent, soothing and educating the people, persuading farmers to teach and suppressing bandits, so that Lanzhou, south of the Yellow River, was politically clear and prosperous, and there were some thriving scenes.

In recent months, Zhang Hao has been nervous. A large number of loyal and righteous soldiers poured into all parts of Lanzhou, and most of them were cavalry, coupled with the fact that Wang Dajie frequently crossed the river into the summer land due to the Hexi recruitment, so he couldn't help but secretly doubt, did the loyal and righteous army want to use troops against Hexi?

Now this Lanzhou City is full of war horses and sergeants, and the military camp outside the city has also been taken over by Xu San, a fierce general under Wang Song. Every day, these knights go around to suppress bandits, and the ground in Lanzhou is so orderly that it is difficult to find even a petty thief.

However, in Zhang Hao's view, these are just tricks, and they are not confusing the Xia people on the north bank of the Yellow River, thinking that this is just a normal public security move.

"Zhizhou Xianggong, the businessmen of Jingzhao Mansion are here, and there is an official document from the Yamen of Jingzhao Mansion here."

The next person came in to report, and Zhang Hao, who was in deep thought, couldn't help but be surprised. After reading the official document, his face was serious.

"Hurry up and get someone in! No one is allowed to come in without the command of the officer!"

Zheng Tu entered the lobby, hurriedly stepped forward, and gave a deep salute.

"Zhizhou Xianggong is above, the villain Zheng Tu has seen Xianggong."

"Zheng Yuanwai, please sit down."

Zhang Hao smiled. This Zheng Tu is a giant businessman in Jingzhao Mansion, and I heard that he is a celebrity in front of Wang Song, otherwise he would not have taken over such a big business in Jingzhao Mansion.

"Outside Zheng Yuan, how much grain is transported this time?"

"Xianggong, this is a list, Xianggong will know it at a glance."

Zheng Tu took out the list from his arms, took it from his subordinates, and handed it over.

Zhang Hao took it, glanced at it, his hand trembled, and he almost didn't catch it steadily.

"3,000 koku of rice, 5,000 bags of wheat noodles, 15,000 koku of black beans, 3,000 bags of fried noodles, 15,000 gongs and pots, 500 shovels......"

Zhang Hao raised his head and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"Zheng Yuanwai, there is so much grain and grass, I'm afraid I have raised a lot of time, right?"

Shaanxi Tuntian camp was a great success, grain and grass were sufficient, and the military spirit was available, with Wang Song's temperament, this big war was bound to be a national war that changed color.

Wang Song, Wang Song, is really what Bing Feng is pointing at, unstoppable. Perhaps it is really possible for the homeland of China to re-enter the arms of the Han dynasty.

"It didn't take long to go back to Zhizhou Xianggong, only two months, there were too many things, and I walked on the road for more than a month. This goods were brought down by the prefect of Jingzhao Prefecture, Wang Xiangbus, and the villain naturally had to handle it properly. ”

Zheng Tu's face was calm, and he replied respectfully.

Now, he secretly congratulated himself on the "wise" act of donating silver taels that day. Just this trip down the deal, he at least

There were seventy or eighty thousand taels of silver.

The point is that the business in the back is so continuous that he has to think about whether to take precautions and form another caravan.

Zhang Hao looked at Zheng Tu and nodded slightly. It seems that at least three months ago, or earlier, Wang Song was already planning a major battle to recover Western Xia.

"Zheng Yuanwai, after going back this time, you're just afraid that you're going to rush to the land of Hengshan non-stop, right?"

Zhang Hao's words made Zheng Tu nod slightly.

"Don't hide it from the state minister, some of the villain's other buddies are transporting heavy grain and grass to Weizhou City. After the villain leaves Lanzhou, he will also rush to Weizhou immediately. The villain is originally from Weizhou, and he has to go to the Hulu River Valley in case the army needs it from time to time. ”

Zhang Hao nodded. The army of loyalty and righteousness marched westward, and the war with Western Xia was about to break out, and it seemed that Wang Song was bound to win this time.

Since the Jin people invaded the Song Dynasty in the last years of Xuanhe, the life of the Western Xia people has been good.

With the Jin people like a bamboo, the Song people were defeated and retreated, lost their teachers and lost their land, and saw that they could fish in troubled waters and have a cheap place to occupy the Western Xia, and they also waved their troops south, not only to regain the "land" lost in previous years, but also to expand in the Hengshan Mountains and the land of Qinlong, occupying many fortresses and expanding thousands of miles of land.

Since the leader of the party Xiang clan Li Yuanhao was proclaimed emperor in Xingqing Mansion, the founding of the Western Xia, the east end of the Yellow River, the west to Yumen, the south of Xiaoguan, and the north control of the desert. The Tangut people often invaded the borders of the Song Dynasty, burning, killing, looting, encroaching and encroaching. The Song Dynasty dispatched forbidden troops to Yanzhou and Weizhou garrisons to assist in defense, thus opening the prelude to more than 80 years of war between Song and Xia.

"The old soil where the Western Xia lived was only sheep and horse felt blankets, which were inexhaustible in their country, and they were bound to push the rest to trade with other countries. Its three sides are all Rongdi, and they are not for sale. However, the Chinese people lose the sheep and horse felt blankets, and the tea and color department stores come from themselves. Therefore the people are like babies, and China breastfeeds them".

The Western Xia nomads had a backward agricultural economy, and their economic income mainly relied on the trade of cattle, horses, cashmere and white salt, and the grain, tea, silk and other things they needed came from the Song Dynasty. Western Xia needed to trade with the Song dynasty in exchange for needed household items.

The Song and Xia dynasties were close to a hundred years, and there were constant battles between large and small. Every time a war broke out, the Song court would close the borders and ban mutual markets and private trade, so as to exhaust the domestic economy of Western Xia.

Every time trade was cut off, the prices of grain, cloth, tea and other goods in the Western Xia would skyrocket, and the people would live in hardship and complain. Because of the economic blockade, the Western Xia court was in financial difficulties, and the army was not well supplied, which also gave it a headache.

By the way, the book-chasing app I've been using recently, cache to read books, and read aloud offline!

About 100 miles south of Weizhou City, 30 miles north of Zhenrong Military City, Kaiyuan Fort at the confluence of the Dahu River and the Hulu River, has been the junction of the two countries since the Song and Xia Wars in the first year of Jingkang. Western Xia is rich in horses, sheep, cattle, camels, felt blankets, wool brown, etc., as well as rhubarb, licorice, wolfberry, bupleurum, musk and other medicinal materials, which are all necessary commodities for the official and private people of the Song Dynasty. The grain, silk, tea, porcelain, gold, silver, copper, and iron produced in the Song Dynasty were also necessary for the Western Xia.

There are many kinds of trade in the field, among which the party horses produced in Xia are very famous, and there are green and white salt, which are of very good quality and low price, and the Song people compete to smuggle them in order to make profits.

Gao Shiji is a frequent visitor to this field. Not only can he get good party horses, a large amount of mutton, and even smuggled green and white salt, he also has a lot of access. Therefore, in this Kaiyuan Castle, Gao Shiji can be regarded as a big celebrity.

The sun was shining, but it wasn't as hot as summer. On the post road south of the Zhenrong Military City, Gao Shiji's face was covered with sweat, leading a few good party horses and rushing towards the south of the field.

Along the way, from time to time, when he met people who went to the market, Gao Shiji was full of smiles, and when he met someone he was familiar with, he even had to say a few jokes.

By the time Gao Shiji arrived, the field was already crowded. Party members and Song people with different costumes and different words

, Tibetans, and Tatars are all mixed in it, and people come and go, and there is an endless stream.

"Brother Gao, it seems that your harvest today is good. How about a few drinks back to the brothers?"

Gao Shiji quickly sold out the horses in his hand, and was just about to walk past a rice merchant's stall when the Song merchants inside came out to greet him with a smile.

"It turned out to be Brother Zheng, and you are also here."

Gao Shiji shook his head and smiled bitterly: "In this chaotic year, I just earned some hard-earned money to support my family. How can you compare to Brother Zheng, a famous rich businessman in Weizhou City. Brother, I'm envious!"

Although he has a wide range of contacts and can get the items that are in demand in the market, compared with the famous giant businessman in Shaanxi in front of him, it is indeed much worse in terms of scale and financial resources.

However, on the field, they all eat according to their ability, and others earn more, and they also rely on their own hard work, and they can't tolerate any complaints.

Hearing Gao Shiji's flattery, a trace of pride appeared on Zheng Tu's face, and then he shook his head and said, "I'm afraid that this business will have to stop for a while." I don't know what good it will do to the people by fighting and killing all day long?"

Gao Shiji couldn't help but be shocked, changed his face, stepped forward and said with a smile: "Brother Zheng, if you want to invite, it's better to meet by chance, there is a family selling mutton soup cakes in front, let's go sit down?"

A big bowl of mutton soup cakes went down, and Brother Zheng's forehead was densely covered with beads of sweat. He wiped his mouth with his sleeve, took out a newspaper from his arms, and handed it to Gao Shijidao:

"This is the latest newspaper, I just came back from Chang'an City, and I brought it with me. Everything you want to know, it's all on it. ”

Gao Shiji cursed secretly in his heart, this miser didn't take it out just now, it was clear that he wanted to mix him up with this meal, and he didn't know what he was doing with so much money.

Gao Shiji took the newspaper, looked at it a few times, and the expression on his face immediately became serious.

"Brother Zheng, as the newspaper said, Song and Xia are going to have a big war!"

Gao Shiji shook his head and said: "Most of the things in this newspaper are grandstanding, and sometimes you can't believe them all. You say yes and no?"

At this time, he was grateful to the "miser" in front of him. He didn't even know about such a big matter between Song and Xia, once Shangguan blamed him, I was afraid that his head would not be protected.

Although he was ostensibly a merchant in the field, he was actually subordinate to the Pingxia City Army of Western Xia, engaged in intelligence reconnaissance and espionage.

The remaining years of war, large and small, have made him more or less paralyzed. If he hadn't accidentally learned from this giant merchant of the Song people today, he really didn't know the news that the Song army was going to conquer Xia on a large scale.

"I really thought I ate this meal for nothing!"

Seeing the news that Gao Shiji questioned himself, Zheng Tu's eyes widened and said: "If it weren't for the fact that it wasn't for your brother to make some money, it wouldn't be easy for me to bother to pay attention to you!"

He leaned forward and said mysteriously: "In recent days, Weizhou City has been very lively, and the sergeants from all sides are crowded with thousands of soldiers. On the school field in the north of Weizhou City, the piles of grain are like mountains. You say, if it weren't for the big battle, how could there be so many sergeants, how could there be so many grain and grass!"

Gao Shiji's heart was in turmoil, and he hugged his fists and said, "Thank you, Brother Zheng." To tell you the truth, brother, I was planning to get some more green and white salt, Brother Zheng, you said this, but it helped me a lot! If this smuggling of green and white salt is caught by the Song army, it will be beheaded and imprisoned!"

Gao Shiji left in a hurry, Zheng Tu stood up, looked at his back as he left, and thought thoughtfully.

I don't know what the loyal and righteous army thinks, and they want to disclose this information to the Western Xia people themselves? Didn't they know that this would attract reinforcements from the Western Xia army?

It seems that this march is fighting, and he is really a layman.