Back at Mianyang Pass, Ling Kun told Li Jilong and others what had happened (qíng), and Li Jilong was overjoyed after hearing this, and proposed to take advantage of the victory to pursue the rebellion, taking advantage of the internal instability of the rebels, taking Chengdu in one fell swoop and completely exterminating the rebels.

Everyone nodded in agreement, immediately gathered soldiers and horses, pressed towards Chengdu, and at the same time wrote a recital of 800 miles to rush back to Kaifeng.

Along the way, there was no resistance, and a few days later, they successfully reached the city of Chengdu.

As the political, cultural and economic center of Shudi, Chengdu has a city defense construction that is several times better than that of Mianyang Pass, so it is still a little difficult to build Chengdu.

And at this time, there was also a new news from inside, the rebels had completed the reshuffle, Yuan Fengyi overwhelmed the crowd and became the new generalissimo of the soldiers and horses of Ningguo, overseeing the military and political power, and the rebels at this moment were twisted into a rope to the outside world.

Li Jilong launched several siege battles, but the results were not very satisfactory. Chengdu has a tall city wall, and the rebels are fighting against the water, so it is really not a matter of a day or two to conquer Chengdu.

Ling Kun persuaded: "Master Li, don't be too anxious, the rebels are just a battle of trapped beasts, and it is only a matter of time before they take Chengdu." ”

Li Jilong smiled: "Of course I know this, but I still want to fight quickly and live up to the emperor's grace." ”

At this moment, someone outside came in and reported: "Two great generals, the holy decree has arrived." ”

Ling Kun and Li Jilong looked at each other in surprise, how could the Holy Decree come so quickly, could something have happened? The two immediately stood up (shēn) and went out to meet the decree.

……

Five days ago, in the study room of the Imperial Palace in the capital, Zhao Heng clapped his hands excitedly and shouted: "Ling (ài) Qing is really a god, as long as he goes out, there is no time to be unsuccessful." With Ling Kun here, my country is worry-free. ”

Wang Qinruo, the deputy prime minister standing in front of him, arched his hand and said: "It is the emperor who is blessed with great fortune in the sky, and General Ling is invincible." ”

Zhao Heng laughed and said: "That's right, in short, it's the blessing of the Great Song Dynasty." ”

Prime Minister Kou Zhun said: "Your Majesty, Ling Kun is indeed a rare talent in a hundred years, he can pacify 100,000 pirates with the power of one person, and defeat the Sichuan rebels to the ground in less than a month, and there is no need to worry about Liao and Western Xia in the future." ”

"Yes, yes, reward, I must reward Ling (ài) Qingda, by the way, when I come back this time, I will immediately marry and marry Mingyue to him."

Kou Zhun nodded again and again: "Emperor Shengming, Ling Kun and the eldest princess (qíng) are in agreement, and they should have been together a long time ago." ”

Wang Qinruo knelt on the ground at this moment and said: "Your Majesty, it is certain to reward General Ling, but whether to marry the eldest princess to him, please think twice." As he spoke, he handed over a secret letter.

Kou Zhun stomped his foot fiercely and sighed secretly in his heart.

Zhao Heng took the secret letter and asked suspiciously, "What is this?" ”

"Your Majesty, this is a secret letter from Li Jiqian sent by the envoy of Western Xia, and only me and Lord Kou have seen it at present."

"Oh, what is Li Jiqian going to do?" Zhao Heng hurriedly opened the secret letter and looked at it, only to see that it was actually a letter asking for peace, and it was very sincere.

Li Jiqian said in the letter that since he saw Princess Mingyue on the battlefield, he was shocked for a while, and he deeply felt that the people of the Heavenly Empire were outstanding people, and how could the poor and remote land of Western Xia confront her. Therefore, Li Jiqian decided that the Western Xia would never again oppose the Great Song Dynasty, hoping that the emperor could marry Princess Mingyue to him, so that the two sides of the Great Song and Western Xia would always be good for Qin and Jin. In order to show his sincerity, he was willing to take the initiative to withdraw from the five states of Dingyan, and after the princess got married, he gave up the position of the patriarch of the party and led the princess to settle in Kaifeng forever.

After reading the secret letter, Zhao Heng felt that his palms were sweating, and he couldn't help but say with some dry lips: "Is it difficult for the Western Xia army in the five states to retreat?" ”

"I just received Zhang Qixian's recital, and the Western Xia Army has all withdrawn from the five states of Dingyan." Wang Qinruo took out a copy of the recital that Zhao Heng hadn't had time to see before he could see it and handed it over.

Zhao Heng swallowed another mouthful of saliva and said, "What do you think of the two (ài) Qing? ”

Kou Zhun knelt down and said: "Your Majesty, you must not marry the eldest princess to Western Xia, the minister has long said that Ling Kun is a wild horse that is difficult to tame, only the eldest princess is his halter, if the emperor marries the eldest princess to someone else, Ling Kun will definitely rebel." With his ability, who can control the Great Song Dynasty? ”

Zhao Heng nodded and said: "Yes, he Li Jiqian wants to be friendly, and I have a lot of princesses in the Great Song Dynasty, why do you have to be Mingyue?" ”

"Your Majesty, Li Jiqian named his surname, as long as Princess Mingyue." Wang Qinruo said: "The minister thinks that this matter is worth studying. ”

"Wang (ài) Qing, tell me what you think."

"Your Majesty, Western Xia is located in the desert next door, Li Jiqian is as cunning as a fox, the dragon sees the head but does not see the tail, I have suppressed him for many years, I have never hurt his muscles and bones, I only see him getting stronger and stronger. If such a person stays as an enemy of us, it will only stir up unrest on the border of the Great Song Dynasty and unstable people's hearts. If Li Jiqian can come to Kaifeng to settle down, then it will be equivalent to settling down the confidant of Western Xia forever. ”

"Yes, Li Jiqian settled in Kaifeng, which is equivalent to taking the soul of the party members, and the trouble of the party will be eliminated forever." Zhao Heng sighed.

Kou Zhun objected: "Your Majesty, this is not a long-term solution, Li Jiqian has come to Kaifeng, maybe Western Xia can still give birth to a king Jiqian." Ling Kun's combat effectiveness is so strong, returning to the dynasty from Sichuan, let him immediately march into Western Xia, and completely exterminate it is the last word. ”

Wang Qinruo immediately retorted: "Prime Minister, Li Jiqian is hiding in the desert, Ling Kun will not be able to find it even if he is an immortal, how can he exterminate it?" Also, I have been fighting wars for many years, what is the state treasury like now, Prime Minister, you also know, if General Ling still has to mobilize his troops to expedition to Western Xia, then where will the military salary come from? If the tax is raised, it will inevitably arouse public resentment. ”

"Ugh." Zhao Heng let out a long sigh and said, "This was originally a good thing once and for all, but this was too cruel to Mingyue, and she only had Ling Kun in her heart." ”

"The emperor (shēn) is a royal person, and maintaining the peace of the country and the court is his life's mission, and the children (qíng) grow up in front of the country's survival, which is not worth mentioning at all."

Zhao Heng was silent and frowned tightly.

Kou Zhun frowned and said: "Your Majesty, if the eldest princess marries Li Jiqian, it will be a complete break with Ling Kun, how can Ling Kun's anger be appeased at that time, and without Ling Kun, if there is another war in the future, who can lead the army to win?" ”

"Yes, I can marry Mingyue, but Da Song can't do without a great talent like Ling (ài)qing." Zhao Heng nodded.

"Your Majesty, this is another thing that the minister wants to say, General Ling is indeed a talented general, but now the Sichuan rebellion will be quelled immediately, and Western Xia is no longer a problem, only the Liao State is on the side, and my Great Song has its own ability to deal with it. Therefore, the imperial court no longer needs this kind of fierce general with high merit. Your Majesty, have you forgotten the lesson of Taizu? On the side of the couch where others can sleep soundly? ”

Wang Qinruo's eyes flashed with danger, and (yīn) Sen Sen said: "This is a good opportunity, not only to marry Princess Mingyue, but also to take the opportunity to seize Ling Kun's military power, and to prevent future troubles for the imperial court." ”