Because of Zhao Ji's three strategies for patrolling the border as the guiding ideology, the seed master Dao, who didn't want to fight this battle, stopped speaking out.

In this case, Tong Guan also honestly and unceremoniously deprived the right to control the capital of the Seed Master Dao, and divided the right to control the capital of the Seed Master Dao into two, and gave them to the Seed Master Dao and Liu Yanqing respectively.

Not only that, Tong Guan also honestly and unceremoniously gathered a group of generals and discussed with them how to recover Yanjing?

At the meeting, the planter said nothing.

Seeing this, all the generals of the Western Army felt heavy and depressed!

In order to break such heaviness and depression, Yang Keshi stood up without hesitation and said: "Taishi, how to arrange the overall strategic deployment of this dispatch?" What is the situation on the Liao army's side? These are not clear, and the subordinates think that they should study it carefully, come up with a detailed plan before acting, and do not rush out. ”

Yang Keshi is known for his boldness, and he is also a general that Tong Guan is very optimistic about, so he dares to speak in front of Tong Guan.

Without waiting for Tong Guan to reply, He Shu sneered: "General Yang, you boast of being a little brave and capable of fighting 10,000 people on weekdays, why are you so cowardly now?" What do you mean by that? Want to spoil the official family? ”

Although he knocked down the old stubbornness of the Planter Dao with Zhao Ji's three strategies for patrolling, Tong Guan, who had fought with the Western Army for half his life, knew very well that he would never relax his vigilance against the stubborn Western Army!

Based on this, Tong Guan smiled and said: "What He Zhizhou said is good, raising soldiers for a thousand days and using soldiers for a while, you must lift your spirits, strive to be warriors, carry forward the military prestige of my Great Song Dynasty, and let the Liao army be frightened when they hear the wind...... At present, the Liao State is dying under the blow of the Jurchens, the Liao Emperor is nowhere to be found, the Yan King Yeluchun usurped the throne and became the emperor, and the officials and people all over Yanjing are looking forward to the king's division, so you must keep in mind the three strategies of the official family to resist the enemy, and strive to recover Yanjing without a fight! ”

After listening to Tong Guan's praise, He Shu felt very happy and felt that his lost face had finally been regained.

He Xu stood up and said loudly: "The people of Yandi are now living in dire straits, if the golden drum sounds, they will definitely tie their necks side by side, and eat pot pulp to welcome the king." ”

Speaking of this, He Shu looked at Tong Guan and said: "The lower officials suggest that in the name of the Xuanfu Division, Zhang Huangbang will be displayed to the public, and inform the officials and people of Yanjing that if they can come to dedicate the state and county, it will be given to the high-ranking officials!" ”

Tong Guan agreed with He Xu's suggestion, and immediately ordered Liu Tao, the staff officer of the marching army, to draft a list of recruitment.

Liu Tao's surrender list is written like this:

Youyan side, originally my realm, fell into the Khitan for nearly 200 years, compared to the Han and Tibetan centrifugation, internal and external chaos, the old master was not destroyed, the new monarch usurped, mourning the good people to suffer again. I proclaim that the envoy will obey the wise order, command the heavy troops, and be close to the border, and ask for the guilt, so as to save the people, not to kill, and everyone should work hard to plan as soon as possible. Those who have officials will return to the old times, and those who have land will resume their business as before. If you can lead the heroic heroes to stand up for the effect, that is, you should be excellent and official, and you will be given a generous gold silk; If you can return to one state or one county, you can use your state or county; If there are heroes who come to Yanjing to dedicate and are not confined to the soldiers and the people, they will make envoys with the festival, give 100,000 yuan, and the mansion is a district. However, in the hard work, with one heart, the joy of returning to the Han Yongbao and honor, and the Khitan Zhufan returning to obedience is also the same as the Han people. Soldiers who have been given a precept are not allowed to kill a husband, or if they are unconscious, they should have other measures. All the restraints of the Khitan should be removed. Although the soldiers entered the border, the price of all the necessary grain and grass and carts and cattle did not make the Yan people prepared, and they were still exempted from taxes for two years.

Tong Guan also ordered to recruit warriors from Xiongzhou, let them carry the list text across the border, go deep into the territory of Liao, and post it everywhere.

At the same time, Tong Guan strictly ordered all armies not to cross the border and provoke in order to avoid military conflicts.

The yellow list of surrenders promulgated in the name of the Xuanfu Division was successively distributed to Yizhou, Zhuozhou, Yanjing and other places in Liao, while Tong Guan and others waited patiently for good news in Xiongzhou.

However, after a few days, there was not a single official of the Liao State who came to sacrifice the prefecture and county, let alone the Han people of Yandi flocking to it.

Tong Guan thought to himself: "What's going on? Is there a problem with the information provided by Hexu? ”

Someone suggested to Tong Guan: "You can't wait like this anymore, you should immediately send someone to Yanjing to find Ye Luchun, explain the benefits to him, and persuade him to sacrifice Yanjing." ”

Tong Guan thought this suggestion was good, so he personally drafted a letter to Yeluchun - Tong Guan and Yeluchun had a one-sided acquaintance, and when he passed through Yanjing on his envoy to Liao, he had visited Yeluchun, and the two had a very pleasant conversation.

The content of Tong Guan's handwritten letter is as follows:

"Taishi, the Privy Council, the Xuanfu Envoy of Shaanxi Hedong and Hebei, and the Duke of Chu Guan hereby write to His Excellency the King of Qin and Jin:

Those who follow the heavens prosper, those who go against the heavens die, those who win the hearts of the people can establish a country, and those who lose the hearts of the people will not be able to defend the country...... The king is gentle and prosperous, has access to the past and the present, and has a deep understanding of the opportunity for survival. If you can open the door to welcome the surrender, return to the court, so that the king will not lose the title of the king, and the Yan people will not have the trouble of taking the axe, if not, they should discuss the army. The king is poor and poor, the sky is tired of leaving, if you want to go north, you have no return, and if you want to return south, you can get it. In addition, the state city under the management of the five roads of Daliao, the four capitals have been reckless, and the swallows of the mere ones must not be guarded. The king usually has a benevolent heart, if he can know the opportunity of the survival of the people in the past, the life of the whole swallow thistle, and the rest of the yin virtue is endless. Guan and the king are fortunate to have a one-sided contract, and they dare not tell each other sincerely, but they are thoughtful and skillful, and do not be mistaken by metrics. ”

After the letter was written, Tong Guan was a little hesitant who to send to deliver the letter?

Someone recommended to Tong Guan the returning officials Zhang Xian and Zhao Zhong, saying that they should go.

The so-called returning officials refer to the Han people who originally served as officials in the Yanyun area of the Liao State, and they later returned to the Song Dynasty and continued to serve as officials in the Song Dynasty, so they were called returning officials by the Song people.

In addition to the returning officials, the Song Dynasty also had the so-called "returning people", "returning to the Ming people", and "returning to the right people".

The so-called returnees refer to the Han people in the Yanyun area, that is, the Han people.

The so-called Guiming people refer to the ethnic minorities who were not originally Han and later belonged to the Song Dynasty, such as the ethnic minorities represented by the Fan and Barbarians in the southwest, as well as the Khitan, Mongolian, Jurchen and other ethnic groups.

The so-called reformed people refer to those who were originally from the Song Dynasty, later trapped in the Tibetan Kingdom, and then returned to the Song Dynasty, that is, traitors and rectifiers.

On the third day after Zhang Xian and Zhao Zhong left Xiongzhou, He Shu suddenly ran to the Xuanfu Division to report to Tong Guan: "I just received a secret letter from Yanjing, Zhang Xian and Zhao Zhong were beheaded by Yeluchun!" ”

Tong Guan was shocked when he heard the news!

In Tong Guan's impression, Ye Luchun is a gentle, benevolent and charitable person, why did he become so vicious and tyrannical as soon as he ascended the throne as emperor?

Liu Tao took the secret letter and looked at it, and said: "Ye Luchun is so ruthless, it shows that he is quite resentful of our Great Song Dynasty, and it seems that there is not much hope for him to surrender." Judging from the current situation, the officials and people of Yanjing are not like what Zhizhou said, what kind of pot pulp, shoulder to shoulder, like boiling soup, this is purely Hezhizhou's conjecture, right? ”

And Xu's face is very ugly!

He Shu was actually very depressed, and he felt that his judgment of the situation in Yanjing should be correct.

But the facts in front of him made He Shu unable to explain.

He Xu suggested: "It's better to send Zhao Xu back to Yizhou to recruit and surrender, Yizhou is Zhao Xu's hometown, he should have a lot of acquaintances there, maybe he can gain something." ”

Zhao Xu is Dong Pang'er, who led the people to revolt in Liao a few years ago, and later he surrendered to the Song Dynasty, and Zhao Ji gave him the name Zhao Xu when he met him.

This time, Zhao Xu also came to the front line in Xiongzhou with Tong Guan.

Tong Guan did not take a stand.

Seeing this, Tong Guan's chief staff Li Zongzhen said: "You might as well give it a try, maybe you can get something." ”

Tong Guan sent someone to call Zhao Xu over.

Tong Guan actually didn't have a good impression of Zhao Xu, he felt that this person was arrogant and empty-eyed, and he couldn't be reused.

Really!

As soon as he heard that he was asked to go back to Yizhou to surrender, Zhao Xu, who had already heard that Zhang Xian and Zhao Zhong had been beheaded by Yeluchun, immediately shirked and said: "I will go back to Yizhou in person, the goal is too big, and the effect is not good." I have a good friend in Yizhou, named Shi Cheng, he is a well-known figure in Yizhou, with a lot of wealth, and he likes to make friends with heroes in the rivers and lakes. I wrote him a letter, and the Taishi could send someone to Yizhou with a letter to contact him and ask him to raise troops and sacrifice Yizhou City. ”

This kind of thing can't be forced, really force Zhao Xu to go back, what if he turns the gun?

There was no way, Tong Guan could only agree with what Zhao Xu said, and see if he could let Shi Cheng revolt.

After Zhao Xu wrote the letter, everyone thought about it for a long time, and they didn't know who to send the letter.

In the end, Tong Guan sent Tan Jiudian and others, carrying Zhao Xu's letters and gifts, to Yizhou to recruit surrender.

And yet—

Shi Cheng didn't take Zhao Xu seriously at all, after he read Zhao Xu's letter, he immediately sent someone to tie up Tan Jiudian and others, and then sent them to Yanjing and handed them over to Ye Luchun.

Soon, Tan Jiudian and others were also killed.

The persuasion failed again.

This made Tong Guan realize that it may be difficult to persuade him to go through, in other words, Zhao Ji's upper and middle strategies have now failed.

In the next step, Tong Guan planned to implement the next strategy and let the army gather at the border, in an attempt to exert military pressure on Yeluchun.

It really didn't work, so I went back to the court and waited to move.

But—

Although Tong Guan moved the idea of returning to the dynasty, Tong Guan was unwilling - Cai still only brought fifty or sixty thousand horses, and he was mixed in the clouds, he Tong Guan brought hundreds of thousands of horses, just came to Yandi, and he was going to go back in disgrace, he really couldn't afford to lose this person, and Tong Guan knew that if he went back like this, then his political career and military career would be completely over.

Li Zongzhen gave Tong Guan an idea: "Send someone to go as a messenger of the Great Song Dynasty again." ”

Li Zongzhen further explained: "The envoy represents our Great Song Dynasty, and Yeluchun will never dare to kill our Great Song Dynasty envoys. Taking a step back, if he really dares to kill the envoys of our Great Song Dynasty, then wouldn't our Great Song Dynasty have the name of being a teacher, and the army can quickly go north and recover Yanjing by force. ”

Tong Guan thought for a while and asked, "Who can take on this heavy responsibility?" ”

Li Zongzhen recommended Ma Kuo to go, he thought that Ma Kuo was brave and strategic, and he would definitely live up to his mission!

After Ma Kuang returned from the Jin Kingdom, he stayed in the capital and was promoted to the position of Xuanzan Sheren of the Gate.

Li Zongzhen once talked to Ma Kuo about the recovery of Yanjing, and he knew and respected Ma Kuo very well, so he recommended Ma Kuo.

Ma Kuo soon received an order from Tong Guan to put down his work and rush to Xiongzhou, but the letter did not say what he was going to do in Xiongzhou.

Ma Kuo guessed that it must be related to the recovery of Yanjing.

Ma Kuo's father, Ma Zheng, speculated that Tong Guan probably sent his son to Yanjing to recruit Ye Luchun.

When Ma Kuo heard this, he was excited!

Going to Yanjing to recruit Ye Luchun is a very challenging job.

Ma Kuo is a man who loves a challenge.

After Ma Kuo arrived in Xiongzhou, Tong Guan hosted a banquet to entertain Ma Kuo at the Xuanfu Division, which made Ma Kuo a little flattered.

After three rounds of drinking, Tong Guan said truthfully: "This time I invited Ma Xuanzan to Xiongzhou, because the country has a very important task that Ma Xuanzan needs to do, this task is very dangerous, I don't know if Ma Xuanzan dares to undertake it?" ”

Ma Kuo said: "If Ma Kuo's guess is right, Taishi should ask Ma Kuo to go to Yanjing to recruit Ye Luchun?" ”

Tong Guan smiled: "Ma Xuanzan is really smart, no wonder so many people respect you in every way, so ...... I wonder if Ma Xuanzan dares to take on this arduous task? ”

Ma Kuo said: "As long as the Taishi orders, the sword mountain and the sea of fire Ma Kuo are also willing to go!" ”

Tong Guan raised his hand and stroked the sparse beard under his chin and said, "Okay! Ma Xuanzan is worthy of my No. 1 diplomatic talent in the Great Song Dynasty, and I do plan to send you to Yanjing to recruit Ye Luchun, huh...... However, there is a certain risk in going here, Ye Luchun has already killed several of our envoys, you think about it carefully, and it is not too late to answer me tomorrow. ”

For the envoy to Yanjing, Ma Kuo was already mentally prepared, so he just pondered for a while, and Ma Kuo said: "Even if Yanjing is a tiger's den in Longtan, Ma Kuo is not afraid, but for the sake of the overall situation, Ma Kuo wants to make a few requests, I don't know if it is possible?" ”

Tong Guan said: "Please speak." ”

Ma Kuo said: "After Ma Kuo went to Yanjing, if there was a war between the two countries, first, please warn the officers and men of all armies that it is strictly forbidden to enter homes to rob and collect treasures, and military orders must be strict; Second, do not kill those who surrender in order to appease the people; Third, we must judge the situation and take the opportunity to march, don't worry about Ma Kuo, Ma Kuo is just a small amount, even if he sacrifices his life for the country, he will not hesitate! ”

Tong Guan admired Ma Kuo's integrity and nodded in agreement.

The next day, Ma Kuo began to look for strong men from the military camp to accompany him to Yanjing.

On the evening of 17 May, Ma Kuo left Song Jing with a group of entourages and went to Yanjing......

……