On October 14 of the eighth year of Beiding, as more and more soldiers sneaked out of the city, morale was declining, and the 30,000 Jin troops of Jingzhaofu surrendered out of the city after being surrounded for nearly a month, and the Song army entered the city and recovered Guanzhong.

So far, it took only a month, and the Sichuan-Shu Song army and the Wu Gong Department of Nanyang and Xiangyang worked together to recover Fengxiang Mansion, Jingzhao Mansion, Huazhou, Shangzhou, Yuzhou and other places that had not been recovered for more than 40 years, and returned all the fertile land in Guanzhong to the Great Song Dynasty.

However, the recovery of these places does not mean that the Jin forces entrenched in Sichuan and Shaanxi have been completely driven out, because in addition to Jingzhaofu, Fengxiangfu, Huazhou, and Yuzhou, there is still a lot of land north of Weishui that is still controlled by the Jin.

In Yanzhou, Yaozhou, Qingyangfu, Yan'an and other places, the Song army still had no time to take care of it, and the Jin army entrenched in these places could go north along the Yellow River, and it was also possible to get the support of the Jin army in the north.

Jingzhao Mansion, in the camp of the Song army, Yu Yunwen, the marshal of the Song army in Sichuan and Shu, and Wu Gong, who were in charge of Nanyang and Xiangyang, discussed the military with the main generals of the right army and the deputy capital of Sichuan and Shu.

After discussing for a long time, Yu Yunwen and Wu Gong gradually reached a consensus, the two armies marched separately and took the old land in northern Shaanxi, the right army of Sichuan and Shu went west to capture Qingyang Mansion, and Wu Gong led Nanyang and Xiangyang to the north, and went north from Yaozhou to capture Yanzhou and Yan'an Mansion.

On October 20, after reorganizing the army and receiving supplementary grain and grass supplies, the two armies left Jingzhaofu separately and marched together to northern Shaanxi to recover the old land of the Great Song Dynasty.

Yu Yunwen lived in Jingzhao Mansion in the name of the marshal and as the deputy minister, coordinated the relationship between Shuzhong and Bianjing, raised grain and grass materials, and handled logistics supplies for the left, center, and right Sichuan and Shu armies and Wu Gongbu, and temporarily served as a pacification envoy in Guanzhong to comfort the people of dozens of prefectures and counties in Guanzhong.

The speed of the rout of the Jin army in Guanzhong caught the Western Xia Kingdom off guard.

A few years ago, the emperor of the Jin State lost the southern invasion of Yan Liang, evacuated from Bianjing, and moved the capital to Datong Mansion, so that the Western Xia monarchs and ministers, who were also vassal states, saw the opportunity to get rid of the Jin State.

So the Western Xia took advantage of Yan Liang's relocation of the capital, and when the east was controlled by the Jin civil strife and the Great Song Dynasty, he hastily mobilized troops in Lanzhou, Yan'an, Qingyang and other places controlled by the Jin State, and took advantage of the fire to rob and seize the land of the Jin State.

The Western Xia took advantage of the fire to rob this time, not only did not get much benefit, but caused Wan Yan Liang to be extremely dissatisfied, and even threatened to use troops against the Western Xia, the Western Xia Emperor Li Renxiao had to immediately send an envoy to Datong Mansion with a heavy gift, Wan Yan Liang was able to dissipate his anger, and Xia and Jin were able to continue to maintain peace.

Since the failure of that border friction, the Western Xia monarchs and ministers calmed down, and they only then understood that although the Jin State withdrew from the Huai River and the Yellow River to the north and lost a large area of land in the Central Plains, the core land of the Jin State was not lost, and the national strength was not greatly weakened, and the Jin State withdrew to the north, not only did the power not weaken much, but the national capital was also closer to the Western Xia.

So since then, Western Xia has regained stability, devoted itself to developing itself, and no longer dares to fight the idea of the Jin Kingdom.

And the Western Xia Emperor Li Renxiao has always liked literature rather than martial arts, and the power minister Ren Dejing was in charge of the military and political power of the Western Xia, and he was autocratic, and also coerced Li Renxiao to divide half of the Western Xia land under his rule, in an attempt to split the Western Xia, although he was later executed by Li Renxiao, but since then, Li Renxiao has been more distrustful of the military attaché, and the imperial court policy has also learned more from the Great Song Dynasty, and more and more emphasis on literature and light on military force, resulting in the beginning of the abolition of armaments, and the rapid weakening of the combat effectiveness of the Western Xia.

The Western Xia military attaché lost power in Xingqing Prefecture, and the armament was slack, coupled with the constraints of civilian officials, the army began to struggle to even quell internal rebellions, let alone use troops abroad.

Therefore, in the summer and autumn of the eighth year of the Northern Song Dynasty, the Northern Expedition was suddenly launched, Guanzhong was captured, and the Xiajin border was continued to march to Lintaofu, Lanzhou and other places where the Xiajin border was located, and the Western Xia did not have any preparations.

It was not until the remnants of the Jin State fled into the territory of the Western Xia State, and a few months later, that Li Renxiaojun, who was in Xingqing Mansion, learned the news of the war between the Jin State and the Great Song Dynasty.

Later, I heard that the Song army had successively captured Lintao Mansion, Lanzhou, Yuanzhou, Pingliang Mansion, Qingyang Mansion, Yan'an Mansion and other places, and the troops were approaching the Xia-Jin border, and there was no intention of taking advantage of the chaos to fight for the land of the Jin State, and it was also worried that the Song army would continue to go north and attack Western Xia, so Xingqingfu could only order the border defenders to be on alert, and hurriedly transferred the garrisons from all over the country to Xiazhou, Zhuo Luo and Nanjunsi and other places to strengthen the border defense.

In fact, the reaction speed of the monarchs and ministers of the Western Xia State is fast enough, after the Great Song Dynasty moved south from the Jingkang Rebellion, lost Guanzhong, the land is no longer bordering the Western Xia, and the relationship between the two countries has been interrupted for more than 40 years, but for the Sichuan and Shu army, the past hundred years of the war with the Western Xia State is vivid, before the two armies were blocked by the Jin army, and now Guanzhong has been recovered, the Jin people have been eliminated and driven away, the Western Xia army and the Song army meet again, and the old hatred will naturally be peaceful, and the Song army has defeated the Jin army, and the momentum is booming, and it is also the common feeling of the army to sharpen the knife to the Western Xia army.

Crazy on the battlefield, I only want military merits, and the Sichuan and Shu army that has been holding back for many years is not enjoyable after fighting the Jin army, so I want to fight with the Western Xia, recover the lost territory, open up the territory, and make meritorious contributions, and be famous, if you can hit Xingqing Mansion in one breath, you will definitely leave a name in history!

However, the reaction of Li Renxiao of Xingqing Prefecture in Western Xia, coupled with the difficulty of Yu Yunwen in raising and transporting grain and grass materials in Guanzhong, and the severe cold climate in the north, calmed down the Song army approaching the Song-Xia border and stopped the pace of continuing to march north.

With the arrival of the cold winter, the two armies of Song and Xia were stationed on the border, and the two sides were separated by ten miles, and no one dared to launch an offensive.

The connection between the Song and Xia countries was interrupted for more than 40 years, and now with the return of the Song army to Lintao and Lanzhou, the border between the two countries must be redivided, otherwise the next major war between the two countries will be inevitable.

Obviously, the Western Xia Kingdom did not have an advantage in this struggle, and the emperor Li Renxiao had never disliked military generals, and was afraid of powerful ministers, and was even more reluctant to use swords easily, so Xingqing Mansion soon sent a special envoy to Bianjing, hoping to restore the friendly relations between the two countries decades ago and redraw the border between the two countries.

The reason why Li Renxiao was anxious to redraw the boundary with the Great Song Dynasty, instead of opening his eyes for his suzerain, the Jin State, was because he knew that if the Jin State lost Guanzhong, it would inevitably be difficult to go south, and the strength of the Jin State might really be seriously damaged, and since the Jin State could not return, he should share peace with the Great Song Dynasty as soon as possible.

In fact, he hurriedly sent a special envoy to Bianjing to have other profound meanings.

The first is to take this opportunity to test the attitude of the Jin State, and want to see if the Jin State has any spare strength to use troops against the Western Xia State when it is fighting against the Great Song Dynasty, if it is determined that the Jin State is unable to use troops against the Western Xia, then you can take the opportunity to dissolve the suzerainty relationship with the Jin State, and the two countries will intersect on an equal footing, and there is no need to look at the face of the Jin State anymore, and there is no need to pay tribute to the Jin State every year.

The second is to obtain peace between the Song and Xia countries, so that there will be no war between Sichuan and Shaanxi, and the Western Xia will not use swords, while the Great Song Dynasty can gather Chinese forces to continue to use troops against the Jin State in the east, involving the Jin State and further weakening the strength of the Jin State.

There are even fantasies that if the strength of the Jin State is greatly reduced, the Jurchen people withdraw to the distant eastern birthplace, and the Great Song Dynasty has no horse farms, lacks war horses, and is unable to take care of the vast grasslands outside the Guan, then the vast and boundless land outside the Guanwai originally belonged to the Liao State and then the Jin State, and the Western Xia will be effortlessly in the pocket, and over time, perhaps the Western Xia may be able to replace the former Liao State and the Jin State.

The monarchs and ministers of Xingqing Mansion in Western Xia have very fast brains and calculations are also very good, but whether they can achieve it or not, one relies on planning, and the other relies on strength, it is obvious that in a hurry, they do not have either of them, and they can only pin their trust on Bianjing who does not understand Western Xia, and is at war with the Jin State, so they have no time to take care of it.

Bianjing really had no time to take care of Western Xia and other small surrounding countries at this time, and their energy and sight were all firmly attracted by Guanzhong, northern Shaanxi, Hedong, Daimyofu, Jinanfu, Hejian and other places.

Northern expedition!

Recovering Guanzhong, Hedong, and Hebei, comforting the countless heroes who died in the Jingkang Rebellion, comforting countless people who left their hometowns and were forced to move south, seizing Yunzhong and Yanjing, comforting Taizu Taizong, comforting countless soldiers who sacrificed and fought hard for this for the past two hundred years, and comforting the monarchs and ministers who have fought for this for generations!

The Northern Expedition is everything in Bianjing, and it is also an indelible plot of hundreds of people and loyal people in the south of the Yangtze River.

Guanzhong and Hedong have been recovered, dozens of prefectures and counties have no officials to take over, Zhendingfu, Yanjing, and Yunzhong are preparing for war, and there is an urgent shortage of civil and military generals in the north, and talents are needed everywhere, and there are opportunities everywhere.

But they lack the opportunity to recommend, and they also have concerns, because Bianjing has never issued a recruitment order to the world.

The Great Song Dynasty advocates support, not self-recommendation, and most people are waiting for the promotion of officials, rather than self-recommendation for officials, which is the Great Song literati, they have their perseverance and dignity.

Jiangnan is waiting, and Guanzhong, Hedong, and northern Shaanxi are also waiting.

Yu Yunwen is already over 60 years old, and the military and political affairs in Guanzhong, northern Shaanxi, and Sichuan and Shu are all picked up by him, and he is so busy that he has no time to rest, and if he continues to be so busy, it is estimated that he will soon be exhausted to death, and Guanzhong, Sichuan, and northern Shaanxi are in urgent need of a powerful helper.

The three prefectures of Hedong, Pingyang, Taiyuan, and Xinzhou, also need a large number of manpower.

Although Xin Qiji's ability is strong, after all, he is still young, and he is not rich in experience as an official, and the Northern Expedition West Route Army is far away from Bianjing in the Central Plains, and his affairs are busy, so he has no time or energy to fight wits with the old ministers and officials of the former dynasty who have surrendered, and they are indispensable to stabilize dozens of prefectures and counties in Hedong.

Therefore, Xin Qiji repeatedly sent people to Bianjing, asking the imperial court to quickly send capable ministers and generals into Hedong.

And Bianjing Zhao Yan, Shi Hao and other monarchs and ministers, with the frequent good news from various armies, first excitedly celebrated, exhaled and raised their eyebrows, and then soon found that with more and more state capital land being recovered, the demand for grain, grass, materials and manpower is also increasing, and in a blink of an eye, they are full of sorrow.

Because there is no one available in Bianjing, the reserves of grain and grass materials are not sufficient.