Song Shenzong "Xining three years", the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty, Tokyo Kaifeng Mansion. Within the city walls of the imperial city, the halls and pavilions of carved beams and painted buildings are lined up one after another, the pavilions and pools of blue tile and vermilion lacquer are intertwined, and the winding foyer path is criss-crossed.

Although the layout of the whole imperial city is a little more compact, it is ingenious and magnificent, and it does not lose the majestic and majestic imperial atmosphere when viewed from afar.

The moat outside the city walls flowed quietly, like a green jade belt around the majestic imperial city.

On the Jinshui Bridge outside the imperial city, many civil and military officials wearing black official hats, red and purple court clothes, and gold and silver fish bags on their waists are holding wat plates, taking hurried and solemn steps, and rushing towards the Xuande Gate, which is wide open at the main gate.

The soldiers of the forbidden army guarding the gate wore armor and embroidered robes, stood on both sides, and watched with solemn expressions as these civil and military officials entered the imperial city.

Many officials walked all the way, crossed the Daqing Palace, passed the Zichen Palace, and went straight to the vertical arch hall of the court.

In the golden dragon pillar, jade as the step of the vertical arch hall, Song Shenzong "Zhao Xuan" wearing a crown of heaven, wearing a round-necked silk robe, waist tied with a large gold and jade belt, the front of the back of the hands on the steps in front of the dragon chair walking back and forth, in order to calm the inner anxiety. A fair-skinned and delicate face was full of excitement and anticipation,

At the foot of the stairs stood a purple-robed man in his fifties, with a slightly dark complexion, five locks of long hair, resolute eyes, and a calm bearing. Seeing that Zhao Ji was a little anxious, he bowed and saluted and said: "Officials, please be calm and don't be impatient, the ministers have reached a consensus with most of the ministers, and the matter of today's Western Expedition has been set by the Imperial Court." ”

Zhao Ji stopped, looked at the purple-robed official who was speaking, and said: "Prime Minister, I understand this truth, but when I think of today's court meeting, I will recover the lost territory of my Great Song Dynasty, and reinvigorate the prestige of my Great Song Dynasty!" I was excited, but I was a little out of shape. ”

The man said: "The official family is engaged in state affairs, and they sleep at night. Tireless in learning and humble in demeanor, this gaffe is undeserved. ”

Hearing him praise himself like this, Zhao Ji was also quite useful in his heart, and he just wanted to be modest. The courtiers had already entered the hall, and the two monarchs and ministers looked at each other and smiled, and no longer spoke.

This purple-robed man is the famous minister "Wang Anshi" of the Northern Song Dynasty. Shenzong Zhao Xuan ascended the throne at a young age, with a heroic appearance, ambition and ambition. After ascending the throne, he was confused and dissatisfied with the weak national strength of the Song Dynasty at that time, the bloated political institutions, the huge military expenditures, and the large amount of "New Year's coins" that the Liao State and the Western Xia paid every year. After the use of Wang Anshi, he drastically reformed the financial and military systems at that time.

Although this move attracted criticism and opposition from the government and the opposition, the monarch and the ministers worked together with one heart and one mind, and Wang Anshi put forward the reform slogan of "the sky is not enough to fear, the words of people are not enough to be compassionate, and the law of the ancestors is not enough to observe" and the Shenzong implemented the "Xining change law". With "financial management and army consolidation" as the center, we developed production, enriched the country and strengthened the army, and now the treasury of the Great Song Dynasty is full, and the military strength is becoming stronger and stronger. After discussing with Wang Anshi, Shenzong felt that it was time to teach Xixia, a rebellious minister and thief, a lesson.

With the successive arrival of civil and military officials, Zhao Ji has been solemnly dressed, sitting on the dragon chair made of rosewood, holding the gilded dragon carved armrests on both sides of the dragon chair with both hands. The face is like a flat lake, and the eyes of the ancient well overlook the civil and military officials standing neatly below.

After a while, Zhao Kai said: "Everyone, Aiqing! Since the Western Xia rebel chieftain "Li Bingchang" ascended the throne at a young age, his mother "Liang Luoyao" has controlled the Western Xia dynasty. Vigorously promoting the Han system and cultivating private party relatives, which led to the division of the Han and Xia in China, the instability of government decrees, and the decline of the country. And my Great Song Dynasty is now politically peaceful, the monarchs and ministers are united, the soldiers are strong and the horses are strong, and the treasury is full. Now that I have decided to send troops to Western Xia and recover the lost territory in the northwest, if you have any suggestions and strategies, please speak freely and discuss with me! ”。

As soon as these words came out, a noisy sound immediately sounded in the originally quiet vertical arch hall, and surprised, excited, worried, and various expressions appeared on the faces of the hundred officials in the hall.

The slender wings of the hats, which were originally used to prevent officials from whispering to each other, did not seem to do much, and the officials no longer whispered in their ears, but discussed with each other on the opposite side of the square.

Looking at the expressions of the officials below with different expressions, and listening to the noisy noise intertwined by countless voices, Zhao Ji on the dragon chair did not show any impatience. Instead, he leaned on the dragon chair with his chin in his hand, and looked at the ministers in the hall with a smile on his face, and he expected that the solemn court meeting would become so noisy.

Now the Liao State is eyeing the tiger, Tubo is about to move, Dali is in a safe corner, and even the small country of Jiaozhi is arrogant. The political instability of Western Xia at this time was a good opportunity to solve this capricious small country.

In fact, he and Wang Anshi have already reached a conclusion on today's court discussion, and they have also won the support of most courtiers. No matter what the outcome of the discussion of the officials in the palace is, sending troops to attack Western Xia is already an ironclad matter. The public discussion of politics is just in the hope that the courtiers of the DPRK and China can make suggestions for this war and fill in the gaps. "Soldiers, the great affairs of the country, the place of life and death, and the way of survival, must not be overlooked." Although he is conceited and wise, he still has to hold a court meeting to let the courtiers know that he is not a dumb king who is arbitrary and does not accept good words.

With a cup of tea, the hustle and bustle in the hall gradually stopped. An official came out of the crowd with a wat plate, this person was in his forties, dressed in a vermilion court robe, with a fierce complexion and slightly frosty sideburns. He bowed down and shouted to Zhao Ji: "The official Shengming, my Great Song Dynasty is now strong and strong, and the treasury is full. Taking advantage of this opportunity, the army will conquer the Western Xia, and it will be a battle, and a certain family is not talented, and is willing to be the vanguard, galloping on the field for the official family, and recovering the lost territory. ”

Zhao Ji fixed his eyes and saw that this person's name was Wang Shao, and he wrote three articles to him the year before last, all of which were suggestions on how to resist and attack Western Xia. The current driver of Qinfeng Road in Shaanxi Province is the main battle faction of Tietie's Western Xia.

As soon as Wang Shao's voice fell, a person stood on the side, this person was fifty years old, wearing a purple robe, with big ears, five locks of long hair, and a graceful bearing, but he was Sima Guang in the imperial history. I saw him bow down and say: "Official, the minister thinks that the small country of Western Xia is just a disease of scabies, and the Liao State is the trouble in my heart of the Great Song Dynasty. ”

This Sima Guang is an old minister of several dynasties, who has always been concerned about the people's livelihood and suffering, and has always dared to criticize current politics and oppose the extravagance of the imperial court and the behavior of local generals to disturb the people. Finally, I saw that the Song Kingdom was about to rise again when it was just a little better, and I felt that the people would not be spared from suffering at that time, so I objected to it.

Wang Anshi saw Sima Guang's objection, so he hurriedly stepped out of the crowd and said: "Junshi (Sima Guang's words) is not good, my Great Song Dynasty now has enough money and food, and the soldiers are right. At this time in Western Xia, the chicken Si Chen, the country is restless, such a good opportunity, God does not take it, but suffers from it, why do you need to take that horizontal strategy? It's really inappropriate to befriend Xixia! Do you think that the annual coins that the Great Song Dynasty gave to Western Xia every year were not enough? Or will the Liao State not be friendly with the Western Xia? ”

Sima Guang and Wang Anshi were friends when they were young, and they had a good relationship. Later, because the two had different political views, one wanted to reform the system, and the other wanted to keep the old, so they often disagreed in the court.

Wang Anshi's voice just fell! There was another person standing at the foot of the stairs, wearing a red robe, purple face, and high nose and eagle eyes, but it was Li Shizhong, the envoy of Qin Fenglu, who saw him say loudly: "Official, the minister seconded Sima Zhongcheng's proposal, this Western Xia is just a small country in Hexi, the land is barren, the climate is bitter and cold, and it is useless to fight, and the great enemy is really the Liao State." This Li Shizhong came out to oppose the attack on Western Xia, but it was not public, unlike Sima Guang, who was dedicated to the people. It's just that I can't see that my subordinate Wang Shao's ability is stronger than him. Moreover, if the imperial court decides to attack Western Xia, he, the envoy of Qin Fenglu, will definitely bear the brunt, and if the military situation is unfavorable at that time, he will not want to carry this black cauldron, and he will be a representative of passive anti-war.

Zhao Ji was already unhappy when he saw Sima Guang come out to oppose it, but because Sima Guang was an old minister of the Three Dynasties, it was not easy to reprimand him directly, and he jumped out of Li Shizhong, who was not open-eyed, and Zhao Ji couldn't sit still at this time, and said with a straight face: "A few Aiqing, the matter of attacking Western Xia has been decided, and calling the Zhongqing family is just to give advice to me and fill in the gaps." Such a God-given opportunity, I have to take advantage of it! ”

Seeing that the emperor said this, Sima Guang and Li Shizhong knew that this matter was a foregone conclusion, and this court meeting was also a passing scene. It's okay to sing against Wang Anshi, but it's very unwise to sing against the emperor.

So both of them bowed to Zhao Ji and said, "The minister obeys the order." "Retreat into the crowd. The other officials standing in the temple are all scheming and knowledgeable. Figuring out the holy will is the basic skill of an official, and seeing the emperor speak like this, the attitude and determination to attack Western Xia have been fully revealed. As a courtier's acquaintance, he hurriedly shouted, "My lord Shengming, long live the mountain!" ”

So the ministers all came out one by one, and the flattery was endless, and they praised Zhao Ji's martial arts to catch up with the Qin Emperor and Han Wu, and his achievements covered thousands of years.

After all, Zhao Ji is a young man, and when he heard the courtiers singing like a tide, he couldn't help but laugh happily on the dragon chair.

The courtiers, the emperor was overjoyed when he saw Long Yan, and those who had the iron and blood to fight couldn't wait to give advice to the emperor loudly. The old ones are just waiting to fill in the gaps after listening to the plan. There are also a few people with ghosts in their hearts, and they just don't say a word, and they never dare to offend Tianyan at this time and provoke public anger.

In this way, the matter of the military invasion of Western Xia was successfully passed, and then there was the coordination between the various divisions and the discussion of military deployment, and this matter will not be detailed.

After the end of the court meeting, several holy decrees were issued, and Wang Shao was promoted to the crown prince Zhongyun and the secretary of the pavilion, and presided over the recovery of the Helong military.

Li Shizhong was deposed from the post of Qin Feng's envoy to the road, and Dou Shunqing replaced Qin Feng's envoy.

Sima Guang was promoted to deputy envoy of the Privy Council, in charge of the dispatch of money and grain, personnel appointments and dismissals for the war against Western Xia.

However, Sima Guang, an old antique, did not give face to Zhao Ji and Wang Anshi, and resolutely resigned on the grounds of "not understanding finances" and "not learning about the military". The court didn't care about his face, and it was not easy to force it, so he had to give up.

So the protracted war between the Song and Xia countries kicked off again. Both sides sent a large number of spies to inquire about each other's military policies.

The military and political game in the temples of the two countries is like an underwater whirlpool, which is inconspicuous on the outside but hideous on the inside. Once the calm is broken, "the beacons are in the sky, and the war and disasters are connected". The place where the two armies are fighting, the bones are full of white bones, and the land is thousands of miles away.

The dispute between the reckless heroes in the rivers and lakes of the two countries is like boiling water in a kettle, boiling from the inside to the outside. In the event of a conflict, "the wrath of the horseman, blood splattered five steps." "The heroes have the righteousness of "national hatred and family hatred"! When fighting with enemy opponents, they are all endless.

So on the battlefield, one by one, they promised the country and sacrificed their lives for the country! The rise and fall of a country in the recklessness, the sons and daughters of the rivers and lakes who are responsible! In this era of heroes, a series of legendary stories have been deduced!