In the Duting Station, Yao Jingxing couldn't help but widen his eyes when he heard Ouyang Xiu finish speaking: "We haven't seen Emperor Song, so we will go back like this, how can we say it?" Since the alliance of Lanzhou, the two countries are about brotherly states, and there has never been such a thing! ”

Ouyang corrected his color and said: "Bachelor, since the two of you arrived in the capital, the relationship between the two countries has not been good. This year, not only did your country not send envoys to congratulate Zhengdan, but even your own envoys refused to enter the country. If this is already the case, why should the two of them see the Holy God again. It's better to go back here, although it's a little embarrassing, than to be more contradictory. Due to the slow treatment of the Northern Dynasty, many officials in the imperial court were already dissatisfied with the two. ”

Yao Jingxing looked at Ouyang Xiu, and then at Yelu Yixin on the side, and said, "The two of us have been in the Duting Station these days, and I don't know what the situation is outside. However, if you don't go to the palace, you will return to China directly, this-how will the two of us explain when we go back? ”

Ouyang Xiu said: "The two countries are like this now, and it has nothing to do with the two of them. Pack up and wait for tomorrow to hit the road. The imperial court specially set aside a train from there to Xiongzhou to exit. The divine will has been decided, and the two of them will say goodbye. ”

After speaking, together with Zhang Maoshi, he said goodbye to Yao Jingxing and Yelu Yixin, and left the Duting Station.

Seeing off the two, Yao Jingxing and Yelu Yixin returned to their residence and said, "King, what should I do now?" When the envoy came to the capital, he could not go to the palace, but it was an unprecedented thing. How do you explain if you go back like this? ”

Yelu Yixin groaned: "There must be a reason why the Song people did this. Isn't this dynasty going to war with the Song Dynasty because of the war in Xiongzhou? ”

Yao Jingxing shook his head: "It's the first month now, and it's spring, how can it be possible to start a war at this time?" The main point is to gather troops and horses, but also wait for the autumn, when the autumn is high and the horses are fat. Besides, we haven't gotten any news yet. ”

Yelu Yixin was silent, and he couldn't figure out the reason for it for a while. This time I came to the Song Dynasty, I was to negotiate the first battle of Xiongzhou, but I didn't want to talk about it not going well. The Song Dynasty asked the Khitan to admit their mistake for crossing the border for no reason, and promised that it would not happen in the future. The Khitan asked the Song Dynasty to admit its mistakes in order to annihilate its own soldiers and horses, insisting that it had not crossed the Song realm. The two families can't talk about going together at all, and the more they talk, the more stiff they become.

It's just that Yao Jingxing and Yelu Yixin never thought that the Song Dynasty would not let them go to the palace, and they would return directly without seeing Emperor Song. Is this a reversal of the face, is it going to war? There is a rumor in the country, and you deserve it.

Puzzled, Yao Jingxing said: "There is no way, we have to go back." Being locked up in the Duting Station, we can only see those two Song Dynasty officials, and we are useless here. In recent years, the Song Dynasty has occupied the Western Regions and destroyed the party, and its military strength is no longer comparable to before, so naturally the attitude is different. If it is soft this time, it will inevitably be more difficult to deal with the Song people in the future. ”

Yelu Yixin nodded: "That's true." This time, it was the intention of the Song people, and it would be difficult to speak in the future. If you don't see it, you don't see it, so you should come to Kaifeng Mansion for a walk. Wait until the autumn, the saint will gather troops and horses, and then see what the southerners say! ”

Yao Jingxing shook his head and did not speak. In the past five or six years, judging from the results of the Song Dynasty's foreign wars, the Khitan will gather troops and horses, and the Song Dynasty will be afraid? But it's hard to say. The once invincible party was extinguished, and the Song Dynasty may not be afraid of the Khitan anymore.

Du Zhongxiao walked out of the official hall, arrived in the courtyard, and looked at the sun in the sky. After a while, he said to Li Zhang, who was beside him: "The Khitan envoy should have already taken the train to the north, right?" Sending them back like this will inevitably cause trouble. ”

Li Zhang said: "You should go." I specially arranged someone to accompany them all the way and send them to Baigouyi. ”

Du Zhongxiao nodded: "Since the founding of the country, Khitan envoys should not be allowed to go to the palace for the first time when they come to Kaifeng Mansion. When I went back this time, the relationship with the Khitan was not good. What do you think, what will the Khitan do? ”

Li Zhang said: "In the past six months, the Khitan lord has been stationed in Zhongjing and has not gone elsewhere. In a few months, all the generals who were originally with the Queen Mother were replaced. According to the news from the front, the contradictions between the royal family and the descendants caused by the Chongyuan rebellion have been resolved, and many princes of the later clans have become Khitan ministers. From this point of view, when the Khitan envoys return, the two countries will inevitably be in chaos. ”

Du Zhongxiao listened, turned around and said, "In less than a year, the Khitan lord can trust the Hou clan?" ”

Li Zhang said: "When Chongyuan was in turmoil, in fact, there were not many princes of the descendants following him. It's just that the Queen Mother supports and doesn't speak. Now that Chongyuan has been killed, the Queen Mother has died of illness, and naturally everything has disappeared. The Khitan can't do without the support of the descendants, it's just a replacement. ”

Du Zhongxiao nodded: "Yes, the two major Khitan clans are indispensable." Without the support of the royal family, the Khitan will be in a mess. In this way, the Khitan is now settled in civil strife, and I am afraid that it will not swallow Xiongzhou's breath. ”

Li Zhang said: "I just got the news that the Khitan has newly appointed Yeluren to stay in Nanjing, and I am afraid that it will not be peaceful this year." ”

"It turned out to be him—" Du Zhongxiao nodded. When he was on the meandering road, he killed Yelu Zongzhen, the lord of the Khitan Kingdom, and it was Yelu Renxian who was broken at that time. Yelu Chongyuan and Yelu Hongji competed, and the country was unstable, so Yelu Ren first took the initiative to withdraw from Hequ Road and gave it to Du Zhongxiao. In the past few years that Chongyuan and Hongji have been fighting, Yelu Renxian has been leading a large army to station in Shangjing Province to monitor the Queen Mother of Zhongjing Province. It was his actions that ensured that the Khitan headquarters did not participate in the war and maintained the Khitan national strength. However, if he did not participate in the war, Yelu Renxian lost his credit and went to Youzhou to stay behind, which can be regarded as a small punishment in name. On the other hand, it was also a defense against the Song Dynasty.

After thinking about it, Du Zhongxiao said: "Yeluren first left behind in Nanjing, did the Khitan increase troops in Youzhou?" ”

Li Zhang said: "Only thousands of people were transferred from Pingzhou, and the rest were not mobilized. However, the Khitan lord was in Zhongjing, which greatly increased the strength of the palace. All the Khitan departments under his rule have newly transferred Ding Zhuang to go. ”

Du Zhongxiao listened and thought for a while. The purpose of the Khitan is not easy to say, and it is difficult to guess. After the civil strife, the thoughts of the Khitan tribes were bound to be confused, and Yelu Hongji drew people to make up for the soldiers and horses in the palace, which can be regarded as an internal peace. However, the palace soldiers and horses are strengthened, and it may also be a preparation for war. For the Song Dynasty, the biggest enemy has always been the Khitan grassland army, not the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun.

After thinking for a while, Du Zhongxiao said: "What the Khitan people think, we can't predict. You send someone to monitor carefully, and if there is any movement, report it to the court in time. The most important thing is to increase our troops. The imperial court has decided that by March this year, another 100,000 troops will complete the training. One was organized as the Xuanwei Army and the other was organized as the Fengjie Army, both of which were sent to Hebei Road. ”

Li Zhang listened, hesitated for a while, and then said: "Tai Lieutenant, there are already 150,000 people after the training on Hebei Road, and there are many soldiers and horses. Why don't you stay in the capital after the army is formed? In this way, only by controlling the internal and external aspects can the peace of the world be maintained. ”

Du Zhongxiao shook his head with a smile: "This time is different from the past, and the internal and external phases are not what they used to be. The saint has already decided, directly defend the forbidden army in the capital, and use the original military name of the fourth army. Zhuri, Tianwu, Longwei, and Shenwei, the four armies were stationed around the capital with a quota of 200,000. Now the situation on Hebei Road is urgent, of course, send the army there first. ”

Now that the training has been completed, it is the army led by Di Qing to destroy the party. A large number of middle- and lower-level officers were replaced, and the non-commissioned officers were basically retained, so the training was relatively fast. The hard bones that are really difficult to train are all in the four upper armies in the back, and it is difficult to be in the back.

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