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Ma Kuo returned to Taiyuan from Yunzhong on December 1.

At this time, the Eastern Route Army of the Jin Army, that is, the men and horses led by Wanyan Zongwang, had actually invaded the Song Dynasty in the south, and had already captured several states in Yandi.

It's just that because the speed of news spread in this era is too slow, and because Yandi and Hedong are separated by Yundi, Tong Guan and others still have hope for Jinren to "restrain themselves from the precipice", and strive to change Yan Zonghan's mind.

After Ma Kuo returned to Taiyuan, he hurriedly reported all the things he had experienced and the quotations he had with Wanyan Zonghan to Tong Guan.

Tong Guan was shocked when he heard this, and he said: "The middle school of the Jin people was initially decided, and there were not even 100,000 horses on the border, how could they dare to do such a major event as invading the Song Dynasty?" You couldn't have misjudged, right? ”

When Ma Kuo heard this, he couldn't help but say: "When I came back from Yunzhong last year, I reported to the king with this matter, and persuaded the king to divide into three ways and select 100,000 soldiers to be divided into divisions, so as to suppress the Changsheng army and the righteous victory army. In Ren Qiu County, regarding the capture of Emperor Tianzuo by the Liao lord, I also analyzed the southern invasion of the gold thieves to the king; In Baozhou, I have written a report to the king, please hurry up and prepare for the side; In Beijing, I persuaded the king to raise 100,000 troops to the pressure realm and plan to deliver. I predicted that the golden thief deeply complained that the Great Song Dynasty recruited Zhang Jue, and also complained that the Great Song Dynasty invited the emperor to be the emperor, which was inspired by the ministers of the Khitan country, and there will be unexpected changes, and the king does not believe it. I think the current situation is extremely critical, and the gold thieves will take advantage of my unpreparedness at the border to boldly invade my Great Song Dynasty, and the king must immediately take precautions! ”

Tong Guan said: "Since I got the letter you wrote in Ruyue Village, I immediately gave orders to Taiyuan, Zhending, Zhongshan, Hejian, and Yanshanfu Road, and asked them to respond and manage their own defense areas. I also ordered Guo Yaoshi to hurry up the army and horses, go out of the city and go to the village, and prepare to meet the Jin army. Now, the Taiyuan Mansion Road Officer Army, plus the brave, courageous, righteous victory army and township soldiers, there are tens of thousands of horses in total, I have ordered the arrangement of brave men and horses to go to the border, and ordered Li Siben to be in the city of Daizhou, set foot in the village of 100,000 horses, yesterday, Li Siben also dragged the soldiers, maybe Sticky Han also heard such a momentum, may not dare to come to the south to invade. ”

Tong Guan really thought too much, and the next day a report suddenly came from the Daizhou border pass: The Marshal of Jin sent an envoy to visit Taiyuan.

Tong Guan immediately arranged for Ma Kuo and Jiyi Zhu Yantong to be the hall companions, responsible for receiving Salubi.

After Salumu came to Taiyuan, he first handed over a letter from Wanyan Zonghan to Tong Guan.

This letter is not long, and it probably means to inform Tong Guan that our Dajin is going to raise troops to attack the Song Dynasty, and now I will tell you.

After Tong Guan read the letter, his pupils shrank, and he hurriedly said regardless of his identity: "The affairs between the two great powers must be discussed slowly, why force each other with military horses?" The two countries have been allied for several years, and we must not start a war on impulse! ”

"The horses have risen," said Salubu, "and there is nothing to discuss, and besides, I have not come to consult with you, but to inform you that you are ready to fight." ”

Salumu also said: "If you are afraid, it is actually easy to do, you immediately withdraw from Yandi, Hedong, and Hebei, and then the two countries can slowly discuss the border issue." ”

After saying that, Salumu left, preparing to return to Yundi to report to Wanyan Zonghan.

Tong Guan gave Ma Kuo a look, and asked Ma Kuo, who had some friendship with Salumu, to talk to Salumu again.

Ma Kuo then pulled Zhu Yantong to catch up with Salumu.

Zhu Yantong was anxious, he asked first: "What does the Minister of Sticky Han raise troops without authorization?" ”

Salumu replied: "The army has risen, you don't need to discuss with me anymore, the marshal of the prime minister's army and horses entered from Hedong Road, and the second prince (Wanyan Zongwang) army and horses entered from Yanjing Road, and the Song Dynasty is already unstoppable, you don't have to do useless work anymore." ”

Zhu Yantong said again: "The two dynasties have been allied for a long time, but now your family doesn't even greet them, so they raise troops, what is the reason?" ”

Salumu replied, "It is only because your dynasty was unreasonable that it led to this." ”

Ma Kuo said: "Soldiers, murder weapons, heaven is disgusted." The Gui Dynasty swallowed a lot of land in the Khitan, and it was only by taking advantage of the momentum of this dynasty that it could be destroyed. Now, once the Gui Dynasty ignores the previous covenant and swears a good oath first, but captures and plunders some people's wealth, can you really help me in the Great Song Dynasty? The Great Song Dynasty is a big country, the world is vast, the army is million, the people are tens of thousands, if the imperial court is enlightened and changes slightly, you will never get any benefits. And once the two countries go to war, they will form a grudge, and if they want to stop, I am afraid it will be difficult. ”

Salumu said: "If the marshal is afraid of the army of your dynasty, he will not dare to come to fight. Now that the book is coming, you will see it right away, and it is useless to say more. ”

After a pause, Salumu said again: "This is the case, what's the point of us fighting here?" If you can persuade King Tong to hurry up to your emperor, only cut the land of Yanjing, Hedong, and Hebei, and take the big river (Yellow River) as the boundary, and access the Great Song Dynasty Temple, but you can also serve the country. ”

Ma Kuo said: "It seems that the Gui Dynasty listened to the rebellious words, but regarded this dynasty as a dilapidated Khitan, but I am afraid that it will cause trouble in the future!" ”

Salumu smiled slightly, ignoring Ma Kuo's warning.

Ma Kuo and Zhu Yantong saw that they could no longer talk, so they went back and made a detailed report to Tong Guan.

Tong Guan was stunned, and immediately ordered Ma Kuo and Zhu Yantong to hurry up and write a recital, and immediately send it to Tokyo to report to Zhao Ji.

Then, Tong Guan had an urgent meeting with staff officer Yu Wenxuzhong, as well as Jiyi Fan Ne, Wang Yun, Zhu Yantong and others.

After some discussion, Tong Guan planned to leave Taiyuan immediately and return to Beijing for Que.

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The Jin army was divided into two large armies to attack the Song Dynasty, and the Western Route Army sent troops slightly later than the Eastern Route Army.

On the sixth day of December, Wanyan Zonghan led the Western Route Army from Yunzhong Mansion and soon entered the realm of Xinzhou and Daizhou.

On the same day, the border pass of the Great Song Dynasty Prefecture urgently reported to the Taiyuan Xuanfu Division: The Jin Army has arrived at the border!

After Tong Guan received the report, he immediately held a meeting with staff officers Yu Wenxuzhong, Fan Ne, Jiyi Wang Yun, Zhu Yantong and others, and finally decided to go back to Beijing to go to Que, that is, to go back to Beijing to discuss with Zhao Ji how to deal with it?

On the morning of the seventh day of the first lunar month, Tong Guan informed Zhang Xiaochun, the prefect of Taiyuan Prefecture, and Zhang Xiaochun's son, Jiyi Zhang Hun in person: The Jin army had invaded, and now the situation was very critical, and he must immediately go to Que to discuss, and Hedong would be handed over to Zhang Xiaochun.

Zhang Xiaochun was stunned and said: "The Jin people have entered the Chongqing Alliance, the king should gather all the troops and horses here, and resist together. And the beggar king is stationed here, and he does his best to lead the people to serve the country. Nowadays, the Taiyuan Mansion Road is dangerous and strong, and people are also good at fighting, so the gold thief may not be able to break it. ”

Tong Guan was furious, looked at Zhang Xiaochun and said: "Guan is just undertaking Xuanfu, not guarding the land, if the Xuanfu Division is stationed here to operate, but what do you want the handsome ministers to do?" This is a public service, and it must be strived for! When he arrived in Beijing, he sent all the troops and horses to respond on the same day, so that he would stay here, and it would be of no benefit to both sides. ”

When Zhang Xiaochun heard this, he got up angrily, and when he walked between his seat and his son Zhang Hun seat, he high-fived and shouted: "It is common to see Master Tong doing a great appearance, but when he comes to the next thing, he is so cowardly, and he doesn't care about being a minister, he should defend the country against tribulation, and only think about it, what kind of discipline is it?" ”

Zhang Xiaochun looked back at his son Zhang Hun and said, "Hugh! Stop! His own father and son are with him! ”

Ma Kuo believed that Tong Guan planned to leave Taiyuan, which was saved by the staff of the Xuanfu Division, so he immediately drafted a "slash" for Tong Guan.

Ma Kuo analyzed in "Cuts" as follows:

"Sticky Han Yuan Liu Yanqing's army was defeated, and then there was a gap between Zhang Jue, so he listened to Yu Jian and Xiao Qing's words, taking advantage of the emptiness of my border, he dared to Chongqing Alliance, and went straight into the two ways.

However, there are not many gold thieves, all of them are in the king to take the opportunity to respond, and the strength is to plan for the defense, and there are four thieves who are jealous, and fortunately there are three.

Taboo: One is jealous of the often winning army under Pharmacist Guo and the courage to fight; the second is to avoid the east of the river and the two roads of Hebei can be defended, and the pawn cannot be attacked; the third is to avoid the militia city to defend and maintain the sharp, and not to fight lightly; Fourth, it is forbidden to choose the soldier to hand the head item to take care of it, and wait for it to be invited to cover up before returning. These four taboos also.

Three fortunate ones: one of them is lucky, the king retreats, the commanders have no unity, the army and the people are demoralized, and they can't be more supportive; Second, fortunately, I am not in a hurry to draw heavy troops on the two roads of Hebei and Hedong to cover the roots; Third, fortunately, I don't need to be a court official, I am suspicious and afraid, and I am in chaos. These three are also fortunate.

There are many dangerous passes on a certain Guanhe East Road, and people know how to fight, and thieves must not be able to drive for a long time. Only Hebei Road, although Xiong, Bazhou to Shun'an military boundary has Tangluo, but Guangxin Army, Baozhou, Zhongshan, Zhendingfu, are all smooth road, in case the Changsheng army changes, Yanshan is lost, thieves and horses take it, and Taiyuan drive south.

The king of Xian judged the situation and quickly moved the division into the Zhending Mansion. Zhending and Taiyuan are adjacent to the road, enough to support each other, and the city is strong and grainy, and the king according to it, left and right many Western people, accustomed to guarding the palace, although the gold thief entered, never dared to cross to the south.

The art of war: the attacker often works by himself, and the defender often works by himself. It is necessary to frustrate his troops under the fortified city. ”

Ma Kuo handed this piece to Tong Guan, and Tong Guan said with a smile: "Whenever there is an emergency, the public will come to submit the petition." ”

Ma Kuo replied very seriously: "The king has the authority of the country's troops, not only the roads of Hedong and Hebei, although the world also regards it as important. When this time of urgent service to the country, for the king, I have to be reluctant! What's more, the matter of befriending the Jurchens and restoring Yanshan was handled by the king, and now there is this hole, and the king must make up for it! It's not just that others don't know the gold thief's love and can't make it up, but they can't make it up to others! This statement is not specifically related to the interests of the country, but also to the interests of the king. ”

Tong Guan nodded on the surface and agreed: "Very good, the coming day is really decided." ”

Actually-

Tong Guan still wanted to leave Taiyuan immediately and return to Beijing for Que.

Ma Kuo left the Xuanfu Division worriedly, and happened to meet the general Sun Wu on the way.

Sun Wu held Ma Kuo's hand and said anxiously: "Zichong, you have to find a way to persuade King Tong to organize resistance quickly, otherwise, the world will definitely fall apart!" ”

The reason why Sun Wu was in a hurry was because at this time he received a report from Daizhou Guan, saying that the Jin people had broken through Mayi County and the rangers had arrived at the city of Daizhou.

Ma Kuo took out the sword and handed it to Sun Wu, who looked at it and said, "If you can do this, why are you afraid of gold thieves?" ”

The next day, Ma Kuo came to see Tong Guan again, and suggested again: "The king should be determined as soon as possible, lest there be an accident, and the matter of the Yanshan Road thief army is very urgent." ”

Tong Guan was furious and scolded Ma Kuo and said: "Because your family is small in Baozhou, you want me to go to Zhending, but I want to go to Baoer's family!" ”

Ma Kuo understood in his heart that Tong Guan was infected by the fear of Jiyi's staff, and was anxious to escape, so he replied: "Since the king speaks like this, he does not think about the urgency of the country's troubles. Expand your wish to enter Beijing with the king. However, I can't bear to see the king lose this, lose his reputation, and scold and kill everyone for it! ”

After being silent for a long time, Tong Guancai said slowly: "I have no soldiers by my side, how can I resist this great enemy?" ”

Ma Kuo said: "If the king goes to Zhendingfu, why is there no soldier? Hebei is a warrior who dares to fight, and more is familiar with the battle array, the king in the name of the imperial court, recruit loyal and brave warriors, and you can get 100,000 troops in ten months. ”

After listening to what Ma Kuo said, Tong Guan made a decision on the spot to send Ma Kuo to Zhongshan and Zhending Mansion to recruit loyal and brave soldiers and horses, which were under the unified command of Ma Kuo.

On the eighth day of December, Ma Kuo evacuated Taiyuan with the officials of the Xuanfu Division.

Soon, Tong Guan led the officials of the Xuanfu Division to the south and returned to Beijing to go to Que, while Ma Kuo went east to Zhongshan and Zhending Mansion to recruit soldiers and horses.

Ma Kuo thought about it as he walked, he wrote down the urgent matters that he thought needed to be handled immediately, and sent someone to Tong Guan.

1. Request for armor and equipment for people and horses - ask Tong Guan to give orders to Zhongshan and Zhending Prefecture, let them collect worn-out armor and organize manpower to process it, which can be made into hundreds of collars a day, and can be used in ten months.

2. Request for war horse support - it is estimated that there are 1,000 war horses to choose in Zhongshan and Zhending Prefecture.

3. Ask Tong Guan to give an order to the Hebei Prefecture Governments, so that they can recruit loyal and brave fighters, choose officers and commanders, and support each other.

Fourth, Tong Guan was requested to transfer one of the elite soldiers of the Shaanxi Fifth Road (i.e., Jingyuan Road) to Hebei and Hedong to assist in the defense.

Fifth, he asked Tong Guan to transfer 1,000 Shengjie troops to Zhending, and serve as a soldier for himself, thinking that he was the foundation for recruiting military horses.

Sixth, once there is an accident, the captives cross to the south, and the border defense is lost, then please Tong Guan quickly follow the story of the Tang Dynasty, Feng Dajia (Zhao Ji) into Shu, and appoint a minister to stay in Beijing to recover.

Regarding the six articles mentioned by Ma Kuo, Tong Guan replied that he followed them.

Ma Kuo was very excited to see Tong Guan supporting him, and he planned to go to Baozhou (i.e., Baoding, Hebei) to get his family first, and then return south to Zhending Mansion to recruit troops.

I have to say that Ma Kuo thinks very comprehensively and well.

And yet—

Ma Kuo overestimated the efficiency of the Great Song Dynasty monarchs and ministers, and also underestimated the speed of the Jin people's southward movement.

The key is that the person left behind is Ma Kuo, not Tong Guan, if it is Tong Guan, according to these six articles, Da Song may be able to barely support it, Ma Kuo, who can really listen to him?

Therefore, Ma Kuo is destined not to be the one who has the ability to save the day......

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