The battle on the Western Front became more and more intense, and the Western Xia cavalry unscrupulously invaded Qin Fenglu and Xihe Road, which obviously had a lot to do with the inaction of Tong Guan and the old thief.

Originally, Tong Guan was in the northwest region to fight with the Western Xia step by step, step by step, step by step, as long as it was to occupy the advantage began to attack, in the occupied territory to build a military wall, military city, little by little to expand the results of the war, although the labor and loss of money, but also quite effective.

But all this changed after Liu Zhenglong appeared, this change came from all sides, which brought great pressure to Tong Guan, coupled with the official family's intention to collect and pay the sixteen states of Youyun, in this case, this old thief was unwilling to stay on the Western Front, and he was eager to return to the capital immediately.

Holding heavy troops, he can't return to Beijing unless he has a holy decree, this is a taboo in the army, and this common sense Tong Guan still has, so this old guy can only be angry and have no temper.

Yao Pingzhong, Xin Xingzong, these Tong Guan's henchmen, of course, know what the problem is, but they are all good at fighting, but in terms of strategy and fighting, these guys are not enough to see together, and they can't provide any help to Tong Guan at all.

This side can be consumed, but Quduan can't be consumed there, and if it is consumed, his territory will be annexed by the Western Xia army, and this guy has no choice but to find Tong Guan to ask for help.

Temporary cramming, how can there be such a good thing.

Tong Guan didn't want to see Qu Duan at all, of course, the most important thing was that this old thief was unwilling to face Brother Richard, and he was even more reluctant to fight against the Iron Harrier, many years of experience in the war made this old thief very clear, in the case of Brother Richard of Jin, he was almost invincible, if he let the Shengjie army Qu be hard, it would obviously be a very stupid thing.

In the case of not seeing Tong Guan, Qu Duan could only ask his old friend Yao Pingzhong for help.

Yao Pingzhong couldn't hide from it, so he could only bite the bullet and see Qu Duan, he said helplessly: "The cardinal minister won't see you, so I don't need to talk about it brother." ”

Of course, Qu Duan knew the crux of this, and he said angrily: "Isn't Tong Guan an old thief who thinks that I didn't burn his pillar of incense too early, and the difficulty is really to let the Western Xia Army annex Jingyuan?" ”

"Brother Qu, it seems that you still haven't seen the essence of the problem, and you know that it is extremely wrong to use the thinking of a military general to figure out the thoughts of that group of civil officials." Yao Pingzhong didn't expect this friend's idea to be so superficial, he had no choice but to say: "One mountain does not tolerate two tigers, the current Western Front is no longer an era where the prime minister has the final say, and everything will be extremely troublesome if it leaves that three-way defense envoy." ”

In fact, Qu Duan didn't know the crux of the problem, but now knowing and being able to solve the problem are two different things. He said very dissatisfiedly: "The defense area of the three-way defense envoy does not involve whether Jingyuan Road is good or not, to put it bluntly, the cardinal minister is afraid that he will not be able to defeat Brother Richard, the king of Jin, and will be afraid of being beaten by the Western Xia cavalry, so he is afraid." If Jingyuan Road is lost, I will lose my head, but you don't want to think about it, don't forget that the books of the imperial historians have long been piled up, I don't believe that Jingyuan Road has been lost, and he can still stand still. ”

This is the crux of the problem, Tong Guan didn't want to go head-to-head with the Western Xia cavalry of King Richard of Jin, but he couldn't let the Western Xia army occupy Jingyuan Road.

Yao Pingzhong thought for a moment and then said, "In this way, I persuaded the cardinal minister to start a war against Western Xia from other places to relieve the pressure on Jingyuan Road, but in the end, it will be up to you." After all, no matter how powerful the cavalry is, it is impossible to attack the city on horseback, as for when to counterattack the Western Xia army and drive it out from Jingyuan Road, it is still necessary to wait for the three-way defense envoy to come back, by the way, I forgot to tell you, although the Lord Liu is nominally a three-way defense envoy, in fact, it is very clear in the holy decree that he is responsible for fighting against the Western Xia, and to put it bluntly, the entire western front is his jurisdiction. ”

What is this, Qu Duan was helpless and went back to actively prepare for the war, and at the same time, like the seed master Dao, Liu Yanqing, Zhe Ke and other helpers, hoping to help him relieve the pressure of defense.

The military families on the Western Front are indeed cold-tongued, but it is impossible to transfer troops across defense areas without authorization, and that will be regarded as complicity by the imperial court, and how to solve the problem of military salaries? However, it is normal to start a war with Western Xia in a small fight and make some movements.

Before arriving in Luoyang, Xijing, Liu Zhenglong received a letter of help from Qu Duan, he knew that the defensive pressure on Jingyuan Road was very high, but now Tong Guan is still there, and if he rashly intervenes, he will undoubtedly act on behalf of him, and he will 100% participate in himself with Tong Guan's character.

Xijing Luoyang is obviously more suitable for the capital than Tokyo Bianliang, and it is destined to be a bridgehead to resist the Jin army in the future, and holding Luoyang can not only prevent the Jin army from advancing westward to invade Jingzhaofu, but also contain the Jin army from moving south.

Since he came to Luoyang, Liu Zhenglong is ready to plant a nail here, but he, a small six-rank official, has no influence when he comes to Luoyang.

Now it is Zhao Gou, the king of Kang, who is staying in Xijing, to be honest, Liu Zhenglong looks down on this runaway emperor in his bones, but the Great Song Jiangshan may need this guy at the helm in the future, in this case, he can only put down his body and go to the meeting, and as a result, he is closed.

Liu Zhenglong didn't care about eating the closed door, but he still left Zhao Dingyu Wenxuzhong, the two civil officials, in Luoyang, and Bao Xu and Dadao Guan Sheng also in Luoyang, this is an agreement reached with the crown princess Zhu Lian, as for what positions these four people arrange, it depends on how the prince operates. Before leaving, Liu Zhenglong called the four of them to his room, nominally drinking to say goodbye, but in fact, it was a face-to-face lecture, hoping that the four of them could take root in Luoyang.

Zhao Ding is a civil official, a civil official who is eager to climb up, for him it is the same wherever he is an official, it seems that Luoyang in Xijing is more promising than in Jingzhao Mansion.

Liu Zhenglong is most worried about Zhao Ding, he said: "Xijing Luoyang has its own set of team, but basically from the imperial court to the elderly, you don't have this kind of mentality, there will be great changes in a few years, during this period of down-to-earth handling of government affairs, the official will also operate for you, Zhao Ding, your target is the prefect of Luoyang, this is what the prince promised to the official, I hope you don't let the official down." ”

Pulling the tiger skin, in fact, the prince has no ability to install the prefect of Luoyang at all, but Liu Zhenglong can only say this, he knows that only in this way can Zhao Ding feel at ease.

Zhao Ding didn't expect that the lord had arranged his future, and after he poured Liu Zhenglong full of wine, he knelt on the ground and saluted, although he didn't say anything grateful, but this attitude was enough to explain the problem.

The most difficult to place is Yuwen Xuzhong, this guy was placed in the left-behind mansion for a long history, and it is difficult to get ahead in a short time, you must know that the fighting in the left-behind mansion is very strong, and this outsider is destined to be excluded.

Liu Zhenglong personally poured wine for Yuwen Xuzhong, an action that moved and was very useful to this pretentious literati.

"It is very difficult to carry out the work of the left-behind mansion, but King Kang will not stay here for long, and there will be a new left-behind man soon, Lord Yuwen, that is your chance, you must know that the influence of the left-behind mansion is still very great."

"Thank you for cultivating."

After all, civil officials are different from military attachés, and for them, no matter where they are, they are all qualifications, nothing more than whether they are happy or not. As long as there is no big mistake, there are people in the court, they are destined to be promoted step by step, of course, those who enter the cabinet to worship the prime minister still have to rely on personal ability, which is definitely not something that can be boiled out by qualifications.

Liu Zhenglong continued: "Bao Xu, you have always called this official Master, in fact, I didn't teach you anything, but no matter what, you have been following this official, it stands to reason that you should be allowed to go to the battlefield on the Western Front to make contributions, but here in Xijing, someone must help this official keep an eye on, you are here, I can rest assured." ”

A sentence that you are here, I can rest assured, I heard Bao Xu burst into tears, in the heart of this strong man, there is this sentence is to go to the soup for the eldest brother, and it is also a kind of happiness.

"However, generals are promoted quickly, I have already greeted the Privy Council, your promotion will be fast, remember that seizing military power is more important than anything else. I'm not afraid that you will cause trouble, but I am afraid that I will not be able to stand firmly. Remember, the official family is our biggest backer, and it's okay when the sky falls. ”

"Master, don't worry, I may not have other skills, maybe I don't have it, but if I cause trouble, the god of mourning is definitely the ancestor who causes trouble." Bao Xu looks hideous, but it doesn't mean that this guy has no brains, he knows the purpose of Lord Liu leaving him in Xijing, and he also knows what he should do.

"Guan Sheng, your situation is more complicated, after all, you used to be a general of the forbidden army, and later took refuge in Liangshan, although you are now Zhao'an, but it is difficult to be reused in a short time, this Privy Council is customized, and this official can't change it for a while, otherwise he will take you to the Western Front." Liu Zhenglong deliberately suppressed Guan Sheng, this kind of person does not suppress it, and he may come out with some moths in the future, he said with a smile: "It's gold, it will shine anywhere, although the official position in Xijing is not high, but the real power, train the soldiers first, and in the future, there will be great achievements." ”

"Guan understands, thank you for your support."

After Guan Sheng claimed to be the martial saint Guan Yu, how could he not understand the rules and regulations of officialdom? Taking refuge in Liangshan is equivalent to closing the channel for promotion, and it is not easy to climb up.

When everyone left, Liu Zhenglong left Guan Sheng behind, and he said bluntly: "I will leave you 5,000 elite soldiers, you are responsible for drills, build an iron army, and give you three years to expand the army to 30,000, this army is called the Iron Army, to build an iron army with steel discipline and iron will, when attacking on the battlefield, it is like an unstoppable torrent of steel, and when defending, it is as indestructible as steel." To complete this task, this officer will promote you to be the general of Dingyuan and the commander of the infantry army. ”

"The last general will follow the adults to the death."

The civil official of the sixth grade easily promised the military general the fifth grade, I am afraid that this kind of strange thing will only appear in the Song Dynasty, as for those who dare to make such a promise and fulfill it, I am afraid that there are only people like Liu Zhenglong.

After settling these four people, Liu Zhenglong did not leave Luoyang, but conducted on-the-spot surveys around Luoyang to see how he should fight against the Jin Army's iron cavalry if he took this place as the main battlefield in the future.

By the time Liu Zhenglong finished everything, it was almost the New Year when he returned to Jingzhao Mansion, and the county lord of Qingluo was not far from going into labor, for this guy, whether it was a boy or a girl, it was a good thing, of course, the boy was the best, and that would have a greater impact on Li Renzhong, the king of Xixia Pu.

At this moment, the connection with the Xixia side has been drawn, and the reopening of the field is a foregone conclusion, but this time it is not the people from the side of Pu Wang Li Renzhong who came to negotiate, but the cronies of Shu King Li Renli did not hide the overlap, this guy is loyal to King Shu, and he is not a tiger general, but what does it mean to come to a tiger general in this kind of negotiation?

Hu Yin analyzed for a long time before he came to meet Liu Zhenglong, and said what it meant that Li Renli, the king of Shu, sent military generals to negotiate.

Liu Zhenglong very much agreed with Hu Yin's analysis, he said with a smile: "You only know one thing, you don't know the other, you are right, because the Western Xia army has won one after another recently, and wants to use this pressure to take the initiative in the negotiations." But this is just a superficial phenomenon, if it is really that simple, it is too underestimating Shu Wang Li Renli. ”

"Please make it clear?"

"Li Renli, the king of Shu, is a very deep city, extremely strategic, and has always been meticulous in doing things, drawing inferences from one another. Obviously, he vaguely guessed that the official intended to get in touch with Li Renzhong, the king of Pu, and wanted to test one or two things if he couldn't confirm it. On the surface, there is no overlap in charge of the negotiation, but in fact, the real person in charge should be hidden, maybe it is Li Renli, the king of Shu, himself, or his cronies, in a word, you negotiate with them on behalf of the official. Before you can't find out the real person in charge of the other party, play Tai Chi and don't cut to the substance."

"Xia Guan understands."

Liu Zhenglong knew that under normal circumstances, Li Renli, the king of Shu, would not come, but the person who came to negotiate must be a very important person, of course, this guy did not play his cards according to common sense, and it was not impossible for him to come in person.

While Hu Yin was in charge of the negotiation, he secretly checked what was going on, and the final result was still so surprising, it was really Shu King Li Renli who came, which was indeed a bit incredible.

The reopening of the field, no matter how meaningful it is to Western Xia, there is no need for Li Renli, the king of Shu, to come, but this guy has changed his disguise, which means that there are other more important things.

After thinking about it, Liu Zhenglong guessed the true intention of Li Renli, the king of Shu, to come, it seems that this guy is restless, since he dares to come to Jingzhao Mansion, it is obvious that he has done his homework.