Guo Shao left the Sanqing Palace, and immediately asked someone to find out the big seal of the "Generalissimo of the World's Soldiers and Horses", and picked up the pen to write two words on Cao Binjin's strategy: quasi-play. Not a word about Cao Bin's strategy has not changed.

Just wait for tomorrow to go to court, and authorize Cao Bin in public. The Generalissimo of the World's Soldiers and Horses is not a military position, but a temporary dispatch; promised to wait for Cao Bin to finish his work, and then give him an official knighthood.

Guo Shao decided on this matter, and stood up and reflected back and forth a few times. Then he paced to the edge of a large picture on the wall, and his eyes subconsciously stared at the place in Youzhou.

…… In the north of Youyun, there are two big characters written: Liaoguo. A large area occupies a large area of paper, as if a huge dark cloud is pressing down on the map! made Guo Shao feel inexplicably under pressure.

Below, the area of the Great Circumference is the largest, but the surrounding lines are complex.

Guo Shao believes that the two great powers will eventually divide in the land of the Youyun Prefectures. This piece of land is related to the fortune of the country; This land is about a sense of security. It doesn't matter who it belongs to, it's just that neither country can afford to throw it away.

If the Central Plains abandons the clouds, it will be like a person with his chest exposed in front of a strong enemy who is stubborn; If the Liao State abandons Youyun, it will lose a large supply of agricultural and urban materials that can withstand blood transfusion, and there will no longer be an offensive base camp, and the decline of national fortunes will be inevitable.

The Northern Expedition at the beginning of this year ended quickly, and it is possible that both sides found it impossible to cut through the mess and simply settle the place; A temporary truce is brewing for a bigger competition!

Guo Shao looked at the large dark cloud-like place above his head, thinking about what the Liao Kingdom was doing now...... It can be guessed that they are also busy dealing with internal problems.

And Guo Shao is now busy solving internal problems and wants to accumulate more strength. The two countries will compete in the sixteen states of Youyun in an all-round way, but the battlefield is not limited to the front line, and the internal and underlying problems are the key.

This year, Guo Shao made two major decisions, and Guo Shao had high hopes for one of Cao Bin's actions; He turned his gaze to the northwest again...... There was a blank space, and the person who drew the picture did not know much about the specific situation, so he left it blank.

At this moment, Zuo You stood up from his chair, walked behind the screen, and clenched his fists and said, "Your Majesty, look at this recital, Lu Duosun is back." ”

"Oh?" Guo Shaozheng was looking at the blank space in the northwest, and the news of Lu Duosun happened to come. Turn around at the moment.

Zuo You handed over the recital and said, "Lu Duoxun has returned to the territory of the Great Zhou, and this recital was sent back from the Jingnan Army's Pizhou Kuaima. ”

Guo Shao said: "As soon as Lu Duosun returned to Tokyo, he immediately greeted him in the palace. ”

……

Half a month later, the twenty-five-year-old young civil official Lu Duoxun finally rushed back to Tokyo with only one military general, and Di Fang. He reined in his horse and stared blankly at the majestic Tokyo Castle Tower, towering over the field like a mountain, and the long walls like a great wall.

"Brother Lu, let's go back to the capital of the Great Zhou Kingdom!" Di Fang said movingly.

Lu Duoxun's heart was sour at this time, and he couldn't say a word, his eyes were moist and he gritted his teeth before he felt a salty sliver in his throat.

When he went, he brought with him a team of more than 100 guards and missions, as well as various honor guards, and there were still two people left at this time. changed into a gray cloth coat, and in order to rush back as soon as possible, he slept in the wind and ate all the way, his unkempt face was dusty, and he was so thin that his cheeks were a little sunken. The young talents of the past seem to be ten years older at the moment.

Lu Duosun reached out and touched his chest, touched something, and then took a long breath, kicked the horse's belly and said, "Go!" ”

When he reached the city gate, he was stopped by the guards of the city, and one of the young generals looked Lu Duosun and the others up and down, and saw them leading their horses, and asked, "What are you doing in the city?" ”

Lu Duosun hurriedly took out the seal letter from his horse and said, "I am an official of the imperial court......

At this moment, a young military general covered in bright armor said loudly: "Lu Envoy Jun, this general has commanded Du Chenggui in the inner hall, and he has been waiting for a long time." ”

Lu Duosun turned his head to look and saluted with a fist.

Du Chenggui said: "Please! ”

Lu Duoxun led the horse through the hole in the wall, and saw two columns of well-dressed cavalry lined up on the side of the road, Du Chenggui said loudly: "Welcome Lu Zhijun back to the court!" ”

All the soldiers neatly drew their swords and raised them, shouting Du Chenggui's words loudly.

Lu Duosun was quite surprised, his heart warmed, and he was very excited. He was taken to a carriage a little dazed, and Du Chenggui invited him to get into the carriage and said, "Your Majesty has sent me to meet Lu Envoy Jun and wants to see you as soon as possible." ”

Lu Duosun didn't have time to prepare, and was taken to the imperial city as soon as he entered the city. The emperor himself opened the way and immediately drove straight north from the middle of the royal street, without any obstruction or trouble. On the way, he kept thinking about how he was not doing his errands very well, and how to speak when he faced the saint.

Then he entered the Xuande Gate, went to the base of the Jinxiang Palace, and went to the East Palace.

Lu Duosun waited outside the door for a while, and then he heard a eunuch singing: "Xuan Lu Duosun has come to see you!" ”

He then bowed down and stepped into the temple gate with a nervous and nervous mood, and as soon as he entered the door, he saw more than 20 people standing on both sides of the court. Lu Duosun was stunned for a moment.

The voice of Wei Renpu, the deputy envoy of the Privy Council, said loudly: "In the past, Zhang Qian sent an envoy to the Western Regions, and now there is Lu Duoxun who does not disgrace his mission!" ”

Suddenly, more than twenty civil and military ministers looked sideways, and their eyes were focused on his face, Lu Duoxun was suddenly excited, his face was hot for a while, and he straightened his chest at the moment, puffed up a breath and walked steadily into the hall of Mingjing and Liangtang from the middle.

…… Guo Shao looked at the unkempt official, and couldn't help but glance back at the blank space in the northwest on the large map on the wall.

Lu Duosun stepped forward and knelt on the ground in the face of the imperial case, and said in a loud voice: "The minister is ordered to go to Guazhou, and today I will return to the court to report to Your Majesty." ”

"Lu Aiqing, please hurry up." Guo Shaodao.

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Ludosun stood up. Completely ignoring the dirty cloth clothes on his body, he unbuckled his belt and pulled open his robe in public. Everyone looked sideways and looked at him silently. If he was untidy and rude in front of the saint, he might be impeached by the courtiers, but no one said anything about him at this time.

Ludosun then tore open a sewn pocket in his underwear, took out a leather bag from it, and pulled out the paper wrapped in rolls from it one by one.

Holding his hands together, he said: "The minister encountered two robberies on the way back, and the minister ......" After that, his voice was choked, "This is the topography and records of the Western Regions of Hexi, and the minister only brought back this ......"

The eunuch Cao Tai stepped forward, carefully picked up the papers, and turned back to put them on the imperial case.

Guo Shao said: "Who robbed the court envoys? ”

Lu Duosun said: "First the Uighurs of Ganzhou, and then the party members on the west bank of the Yellow River. ”

He paused and said, "The minister's journey to the Guiyi Army was very smooth, but the place in Hexi was very cold at night, and a few people froze to death. Cao Yuanzhong set up a worship in the eastern suburbs of Guazhou, and accepted the imperial court's canonization of Xiping Marquis, the school inspection captain, and the Guiyi Army's festival envoy.

Cao Yuanzhong treated his ministers with courtesy, offered the Western Regions and Hexi Map, and paid tribute to 200 good horses. The minister stayed in Guazhou for many days, and wrote down what he saw and heard along the way, so he wanted to return to Beijing as soon as possible.

It passed through Ganzhou (the central part of the Hexi Corridor) and was intercepted by the Uighurs. Later, Cao Yuanzhong's people sent him off gave money, and the ministers and others were finally taken off, and the honor guards were intact. ”

After hearing this, the ministers said that the Uighurs were merciful, and asked Lu Duosun why he had come back like this, and some people asked about the horses.

Lu Duosun bowed to the left and right, and said, "It's not that the Uighurs are polite, but it's really in Cao Yuanzhong's face. In the past, Ganzhou was also the territory of the Guiyi army, which was taken away by the Uighurs, and the Guiyi army fought many battles with the Uighurs, and there were many new and old grudges. However, after Cao Yuanzhong took charge of the Guiyi Army, he married and befriended all the tribes of various ethnic groups, and the relationship was good over the years, and there were many exchanges of goods and trade with each other, so the Uighurs would give Cao Yuanzhong face. ”

Guo Shao nodded after hearing this, and saw that there were officials from the Hanlin Academy next to him who were struggling to write records.

Lu Duosun said again: "The ministers returned east, and on the bank of the Yellow River, they suddenly encountered the cavalry of the Dang Xiangren. The minister called Xiang Gui to explain that we are the envoys of the Great Zhou, just passing by here.

Unexpectedly, the party members heard that we were envoys of the Great Zhou Dynasty, so they didn't give room for negotiation and negotiation at all, and rushed up with weapons without saying a word. The retinue of the minister and the guards of the Guiyi army resisted desperately, but they were outnumbered. The ministers didn't care about the good horses and honor guards sacrificed by the Guiyi army, and they wholeheartedly protected the drawings and forcibly crossed the Yellow River, and after crossing the river, only Di Fang was left to follow......"

Wei Renpu said angrily: "Although the Central Plains has been in war for many years, it still has prestige in the hearts of the tribes. Those party members knew that the war horse was a tribute to the Son of Heaven, but they dared to blatantly kill people and plunder goods! ”

Guo Shao also sighed secretly, knowing that the Central Plains Dynasty at this time had not been able to set foot in the west for many years, and it had no impact on all ethnic groups, how much prestige did it have?

Lu Duoxun said: "The minister ran all the way to Jingzhou, only to learn that the original party members hated the Han people...... Because of the Shuofang Festival in Lingzhou, after Feng Jiye (Hetao area) killed his brother and seized the throne, he changed his attitude and burned, killed and looted the party members on both sides of the east and west all the year round, which made the party members very hateful. No wonder the party members know that we are envoys of the Great Zhou, and they will kill us when they come up. ”

Wang Pubai said: "The Dangxiang people mainly live in Xiazhou and other five states, and there are also Dangxiang tribes in the Yellow River Hetao area; The one who attacked Lu Envoy Jun should have been the Hetao Party members. The party items in Xiazhou are mainly Tuoba tribes, which have changed their surname to Li, and have always been knighted by the Central Plains; The current leader is called Li Yiyin, and the first emperor (Chai Rong) gave him the official Taifu and Zhongshu Order, and named the king of Xiping, nominally returning to the Great Zhou, and there was little trouble in Pingsu...... However, the party item in Xiazhou is really a hidden danger. ”

Guo Shao suddenly realized that the Western Xia Kingdom should be this place!

He looked through the dossier of Lu Duoxun's dedication and listened to Lu Duosun's account of what he had seen along the way.

Guo Shaojia said: "It is not easy for our ancestors to overcome obstacles and open up territory. Lu Zhijun's trip was not afraid of difficulties and dangers, and reopened our court's vision of Hexi and the Western Regions, which played a major role. We need people like Lu Yuanjun to regain our former prestige. ”