Chapter 568: If you want to fight, you will fight

Li Shifu didn't answer, escorted him into a military tent, and asked, "Who are you?" What are you doing here? ”

The man clenched his fists and showed his identity: "In the dismount expansion, Qin Feng Jingluo appeased the senator of the Division, served as the deputy envoy of the Great Song Sichuan and Shaanxi Xuanfu, and the Shaanxi envoy Xu Shuaijun took the salute to meet the commander of the Xia army. ”

Hearing the name "Ma Kuo", Li Shifu's heart moved. Some time ago, when he led the army to rebel for the "green-faced Yaksha" of Western Xia Ping, he had heard that there was a southern envoy named Ma Kuan's envoy to the Xia Kingdom, and he paid special attention to inquiring about it at that time, and he didn't want to meet here in such a way.

"Since I am the envoy of Xu Wei, I am not embarrassed by you, the commander of our army is busy with military affairs and has no time to see you. and in the camp, waiting for the meeting. Li Shifu said.

At that moment, he ordered Ma Kuo to live alone in this tent, and his entourage made other arrangements. When he led his soldiers to take others out of the account, Ma Kuo stopped: "This official, I expect that your army is not here for reinforcements. If it is true, Xia Guo is very likely to offend both Song and Jin this time. Before coming down, of course, the mission is in the body, but from the standpoint of your country, coming here is also for the summer. ”

When Li Shifu heard this, he was silent for a while, and after a long time, he ordered the soldiers to lead the rest of the people out of the account, turned around and asked: "How do you know that our army is not here for reinforcements." ”

"If it's aid, why stop at Pingrong and wait and see? You should know that our army has been extended and Ganquan has formed a joint attack on Yan'an. Why don't you go south and join forces with the Jin people to attack our army? Ma Kuo asked.

Li Shifu couldn't answer, took a deep look at the other party, turned around and walked out of the tent, and ordered the soldiers to be strictly guarded, and not to let the Song envoy out of the tent. He himself hurried to the king's tent to report the matter.

"Ma Kuo? Is it him again? When Wang Shu heard that it was Ma Kuo, he was quite surprised. On a recent mission to our country, this person was received by local military and political officials and brought about the reopening of the field, and the people from top to bottom had a very good impression of him. He came back this time, I am afraid that he is lobbying to persuade our army to retreat.

"Ma Kuo said that he expected that our army would not come here for reinforcements, and said that if our country did not handle it properly this time, it was very likely to offend both Song and Jin." Li Shifu reported truthfully.

When Wang Shu heard this, his face sank, because the other party's words were critical. After pondering for a while, he sighed: "Shifu, when you came to vote, you asked my lord to borrow troops for revenge. At that time, my lord promised you that if you can make meritorious service, you will not hesitate to borrow soldiers. Your pacification of the rebellion of the green-faced yakshas, my lord is overjoyed, so that we will have 40,000 'Bu Bazi' and 20,000 'Iron Harriers' to take Yan Yan and avenge you. But now Xu Wei is in his senses, and when our military arrives in Yan'an, he has already hit him. Do you say that now, is our army attacking gold or Song? ”

Li Shifu replied without hesitation: "This is not a humble position that can be swayed, and I also ask the privy minister to judge it." ”

Wang Shu glanced at him, did not persecute, and said to himself: "If you attack the Jin army and take Yan'an, you will not only anger Dajin, but also offend the Great Song Dynasty." If it is to help Jin resist the Song Dynasty, it will be the righteousness of the Jin Xia monarch and the minister, and only the Great Song Dynasty will be punished. Which is more important? ”

Li Shifu didn't say anything else, only said: "If that's the case, what is the benefit of Daxia?" ”

Wang Shu was silent, and after a moment, he ordered Shifu to go by himself. He hesitated for a while, this time to send troops, to avenge Li Shifu is of course just a reason, the most important thing is that Lord Xia hates Jin several times to break the contract, and wants to take advantage of the western-growing army to seize Yanyan.

But the situation is extremely complicated. First of all, the Song army has already come to Yan'an, and if they raise troops to take it, they will offend the two countries cleanly, and make Rinei not a person. If you help Jin Jun, it is obviously not what our side wants. Besides, as Li Shifu said, if we help the Jin Kingdom, what good will it do to Great Xia?

The Jurchens turned their faces without grace and had no credibility at all. When I want to use you, I am closer than my own father, and I will treat you as a fart when I don't need you. I helped it repel the Song army, can it cede land to Great Xia?

If you quit the army, no one will be offended. But the country is moving and tens of thousands of elite soldiers are going south, so it's impossible to even have a mouthful of soup to drink, right?

"Alas, it's hard." Wang Shu shook his head and sighed.

Ma Kuo and his entourage were detained in the summer camp for many days, and Wang Shu ordered people to treat them well, but they were never seen. During this period, Han Chang also constantly sent envoys to Pingrong to urge the Xia army to march, and Wang Shu met with him at first, but later simply let his subordinates deal with it.

As for the Song Army, as soon as the Danzhou grain road was opened, the military grain was imported into the barracks, and there were no worries about logistics support. In addition, Yao Pingzhong seized Pujin Pass, so he didn't have to worry about the future. Xu Wei was also unwilling to risk the danger of fighting with the two ** teams to attack in a hurry, and the Yan'an battlefield was silent for a while.

On the seventh day of the ninth month, Yao Pingzhong, the commander of Xihe, came to report that there were signs of the assembly of the cash army in Hefu, which may be the arrival of Han Chang's reinforcements. For the sake of safety, he ordered his troops to hold the bulwark pontoon bridge on the west bank of the Yellow River, and sent troops to fortify Fenglingdu, and from time to time sent rangers to patrol along the river to prevent the Jin people from smuggling.

Until the beginning of September, the envoys of the Jin State were still in Hangzhou to negotiate with the Great Song Dynasty, accusing the Western Army of provoking a war. He also threatened that if the Western Army did not withdraw its troops and return to its division, then the Dajin Kingdom would stop the peace talks and the two countries would return to a state of hostility.

Emperor Zhao Chen was a young man in the end, and he was a little shaken by this fright, and summoned Zai Zhi to inquire several times. Are Xu Churen and Xu Wei Erqing sure of recovering Shaanxi? If this battle is won, it is good to say, in case of defeat, there is no hope that the peace talks will be small, and the Jin people will raise a large army to attack again, and the consequences will be worrying.

And Emperor Zhao Huan also constantly put pressure on his son, even coaxing and intimidating, saying that as long as Xu Wei is defeated, Shaanxi will have to lose it cleanly, and Sichuan will have to be affected. Seeing this, the Jin people will inevitably stop the peace negotiation and raise a large army to invade.

Not only the imperial family, but also some ministers of the DPRK began to change their positions at this time. I think that since there is sincerity in the north to negotiate peace, it is better to let the western army stop fighting and talk first.

Xu Shao was under great pressure, and to be honest, he didn't dare to guarantee that Xu Wei would be able to defeat. However, not to interfere with the actions of the Western Army is what he strongly advocates, and now that the arrow has been released, how can there be any reason to take it back? Therefore, they can only bite the bullet and insist that the Western Army will be able to recover the lost territory.

Zhao Huan caught this handle, this is what you said, what should I do if I am defeated? Are you responsible? Xu Shao was forced to have no choice, and he was in charge, if the Western Army was defeated, I would take the blame and resign

On the eighth day of the ninth month, the hesitant Wang Shu was finally willing to meet with the Song envoy Ma Kuo. He wanted to hear what Xu Wei had to say, so he weighed the pros and cons and decided to advance and retreat.

Li Shifu entered the tent where Ma Kuo lived, and now the other party was moving his muscles in the tent, so he asked: "Senator Ma is in the summer camp, why is he still so leisurely?" ”

Ma Kuo wiped a handful of sweat and said with a smile: "You won't kill me, why don't you relax?" ”

"Are you so sure?" Li Shifu asked.

"Of course, you are here, but on the orders of Xia Shuai, please ask me to meet?" Ma Kuo also asked.

Li Shifu was stunned and had to nod in acknowledgement. Seeing this, Ma Kuo took his clothes and put them on, and said, "That trouble leads the way." ”

Li Shifu did not move, pondered for a long time, turned to the tent, sent the soldiers away, and then came back to look directly at Ma Kuo, and said in a deep voice: "The senator asked me if I was Han that day. ”

"You have a northern Shaanxi accent, you don't even ask." Ma Ku laughed. It is not uncommon that there were also Han Chinese in Western Xia.

"Under Li Shifu." Li Shifu finally revealed his identity.

Hearing this, Ma Kuo couldn't help but change his color and said, "You are Li Shifu?" Ling Zun is Li Yongqi? ”

"Exactly." Li Shifu said solemnly.

Ma Kuo shook his head and sighed: "At that time, your father and son sent someone to report that they wanted to return to the Great Song Dynasty, and Xu Xuanfu returned his life to Huanqingshuai Liu Guangshi to respond, who knows ......?"

Hearing him mention this, Li Shifu was emotional, and his eyes were red: "When Yan Yan fell, the Jin people granted me the official position of father and son, and my father gathered his children and cried and said, 'I am a Song minister, and I am blessed by the country, but I am used for him' and was trapped in the thief camp, helpless, so I had to endure the humiliation and dirt, and I was planning to return to the country all the time. And Xu Shuai General Festival Guan Fu, the Western Army Soldier Wei Rilong, my father and son wanted to do something, how did I expect it to be defeated, my whole family was harmed by the Jin people, this is not the same hatred of the sky, how can Shifu not revenge"

Ma Kuo comforted a few words, and then asked: "Although the incident failed, but you escaped, why didn't you come west to defect, but went to Western Xia?" ”

"On that day, I only had twenty-six horsemen left, and I had no face to see Xu Shuai, so I had to flee all the way north into the party's territory. The Xia Lord met me and asked why, I wanted to borrow troops from the Xia Lord for revenge, and the Xia Lord promised that if I could make meritorious contributions, I would not hesitate to borrow troops. Under the blood sea of deep hatred, leading the troops to quell the rebellion, the Xia lord was overjoyed, and the mission Wang Shu, the transfer and the 60,000 elite soldiers under the south came, wanting to take Yan Yan. Li Shifu revealed his hidden feelings.

Ma Kuo was shocked and hesitated, Xia Jun came here, and it was really for the sake of profit, and the other party intended to Yanyan, and so did our side, this contradiction could not be avoided

Seeing that the other party didn't speak, Li Shifu said earnestly: "The day before yesterday, the official asked me if I was a Han Chinese, but I didn't answer because I was a member of the party. However, since the Tang Dynasty, my family has been inspected by the hereditary Suwei Nine Clans, and I have received the grace of the country, how can I not report it? ”

Ma Kuo didn't know whether it was true or not, and said casually: "True and loyal people are also"

"Shifu is here, although it is revenge, but since Xu Xuanfu's army has come to Yan'an, how can I be hostile? Now, when I return to China, I am willing to die under Xu Shuai, recover the whole of Shaanxi, and avenge me" Li Shifu's words were sonorous and powerful, and Ma Kuang couldn't help but be moved when he heard it

But after thinking about it, he realized that this matter was difficult to handle, and asked: "You came by the order of the Xia Lord, so you want to return to the dynasty loyally, but how can Wang Shu and the others be willing to go?" ”

Li Shifu obviously advocated it a long time ago, and said: "The senators are here, but they can persuade each other with good words and know the benefits and disadvantages." It would be good if the king was willing to follow nature. ”

Ma Kuo's heart jumped, and he raised his eyebrows and said, "If the other party doesn't follow ......"

Li Shifu's expression became resolute, and he gritted his teeth and said: "If you don't comply, I will kill these two people on the spot, and lead the soldiers and horses of the headquarters to go to Xu Shuai's army with the senator, before the Xia army loses its commander, and there is no doubt that it will retreat."

Ma Kuo has made many envoys to foreign countries, but he can be regarded as a person who has seen a big scene and gone through a lot of wind and waves, but at this time he is also so frightened that he is not afraid that Li Shifu will miss, but he is afraid that he will succeed Imagine that Xu Xuanfu has spent a lot of energy to improve relations with Xixia, and finally there is some progress now, you killed the important ministers of the Xia Kingdom, and turned against the water, how much hatred does this have to have with Xixia? I dare to guarantee that in this way, Western Xia must be determined to lean towards the Jurchens. If this is the case, even if we recover all of Shaanxi, I am afraid that we will not be able to sit still

Therefore, he hurriedly stopped: "Don't try your best to improve the relationship with Xia, Shifu must not see Wang Shu later because of a small loss, I should know the benefits, you must not act rashly"

Li Shifu heard him say this and agreed, but Ma Kuo was afraid that the other party would be arrogant, so after repeated instructions, he went with him to see Wang Shu.

However, it was said that Wang Shu knew that the horse was coming, so he sat in the tent and waited with the deputy envoy of Zhaofu, but did not put any knife and axe hand and boiling oil pot, but the military minister moved all the clothes and grabbed the knife in hand.

Li Shifu led Ma Kuo to, who had seen Wang Shu before, so he quickly stepped forward and said: "The Great Song Dynasty Qin Feng has slightly pacified Ma Kuo, the senator of the Division, and has seen Wang Shumi. I haven't seen him for a long time, but the prince's demeanor is still the same. ”

Wang Shu was unmoved, and said with a long face: "This meeting is aimed at official business, not personal friendship, and Senator Ma does not have to be like this." ”

touched such a nail, Ma Kuo was not angry, and met with Yi Yan again, and Li Shifu set up his own tent.

"The Senate is here, but to lobby our army to retreat? If this is the case, then there is no need to empty words, Dajin is the suzerain of our country, you Xu Xuan raised troops to attack, and I was ordered to help. Wang Shu said deceitfully.

Ma Kuo smiled when he heard this: "How can the privy councillor deceive each other so much? If reinforcements come, our army is extending and Ganquan, why don't you come to attack? Isn't he afraid of the prestige of the tiger? ”

"Hmph, although you Xu Zhizhi have many soldiers and a wide range of generals, how can I be afraid of my party Xiang Ruishi?" Wang Shu sneered.

Ma Kuo spread his hands and said: "Then I will fight to announce that hundreds of thousands of elite Western troops will take over Shaanxi, and I will win."

When the shifter sitting next to him heard this, he also changed color

Wang Shu was stunned and couldn't help asking, "Are you really here to lobby?" ”

"The privy councillor deceived each other face to face, Ma is here to be a lobbyist, how can there be room to speak?" Ma Kuozheng color channel.

There was silence in the tent for a while, and when Li Shifu saw this, he quietly put his hand on the hilt of the knife. Those who do the same thing as him are also transgressors.

Wang Shu knew that Ma Kuo was not an ordinary person, so he immediately opened his mouth to break the deadlock: "Well, it's not the first time I've met with you, and I'll tell you the truth, our army is here to be extended." ”

"Then I will tell you the truth, Ma is here to declare the decree of the Prime Minister, bring 200 catties of gold, and present it to the Privy Minister's public account as a gift." Ma Kuang Road.

Wang Shu said: "If you don't have merit and no luck, how can you receive your goods?" ”

"To tell you the truth, Xu Xuanfu asked your army to withdraw from my realm." Ma Kuo solemnly proposed.

Before Wang Shu could answer, the deputy envoy of Shaanxi Zhaofu in Great Xia snorted coldly: "Xu Wei has such a big breath, and he wants me to ride 200,000 steps and retreat with a single sentence?" ”

Ma Kuo glanced at him and said, "At the moment, I believe the two of you are aware of the situation in Yan'an. Our army has formed a flanking attack on the gold thieves, and it is necessary to take Yan'an. Your army is not here for aid, so why bother to make trouble? If you retreat, you will avoid injury and peace. ”

"What if you hurt your peace?" Shifting the knife asked.

"Haha." Ma Guang smiled, "I know that the Xia army has a 'foot tag' that can climb the mountain and take risks, such as walking on flat ground, and there is an 'iron harrier' that can gallop across the plain and charge into battle." But the athletes of my western army, all of them are soldiers in the western part of the country, in order to restore Sangzi and welcome back their fathers and elders, they are all desperate to fight to the death, and the western army will not be afraid of this, I believe both of them know it."

Of course, Wang Shu and Yi Zhen knew that the Western Army of the Great Song Dynasty and the Xia Army of the Party had fought for decades, and they had won and lost each other. But in the later period, the Western Army had already expanded its borders and occupied a great advantage. In particular, the loss of the first line of Hengshan Tiandu Mountain led to the absence of a natural barrier in Western Xia, and it was already at a disadvantage when the Western Army was advancing step by step. If it weren't for the fact that Emperor Daojun Zhao Ji had a hot head and transferred the main force of the Western Army, which had just experienced a bitter battle, to attack Liao, which led to a big defeat, and the Song-Jin War broke out, it is estimated that Western Xia would be choking now.

Seeing that the two of them did not speak, Ma Kuo continued: "Today, our two countries have reopened their fields on the border, making profits from each other, and the truce has been fighting for a long time. I hope that I will not make a grudge because of a momentary mood. ”

Wang Shu was still silent, he knew that Ma Kuo's words were true. Originally, this time I sent troops to take advantage of the melee between Song and Jin and make a profit. If he takes Yan Yan, the Great Song Dynasty will definitely come to recover it in the future, and he will also have the capital to negotiate at that time. But with the current situation, it is impossible for the Xia army to capture Yanyan, and the aid is not what I want......

Wang Shu's protracted silence made Ma Kuo have to guess his thoughts, and after a long time, he said tentatively: "When Ma came, Prime Minister Xuanfu instructed that as long as your army is willing to retreat, we promise that after the recovery of Yan Yan, we will open another field at the border, expand the scale of the mutual market, and increase the variety of goods. ”

Wang Shu was quite excited, if he could open the market again and expand the mutual market, this would be a good thing for Great Xia. It's just that taking this as a reward for retiring from the army seems to be a little uninteresting. I claim to be 200,000, but the actual elite foot rider is 60,000 out of the country, so I can't run in vain.

Ma Kuo seemed to know the other party's thoughts, but he didn't increase the price any more. We can't give Western Xia coins anymore like we did before. Because once this opening is opened again, it will be a great trouble. In the future, as long as we fight with the Jin Army, the party members will come to such a hand and take the opportunity to blackmail, so what will we do?

There was no movement for a while, and both sides had their own concerns, calculating, and weighing.

"Come on, Senator Ma." Wang Shu finally spoke.

"What does the Privy Council command?" Ma Kuo responded.

"Let me think about this matter carefully, please stay in my camp for the time being." Wang Shu said.

Ma Kuo knew that the other party was an excuse, it was nothing more than wanting to increase the size, so he didn't take the offer, and got up and said: "In this case, then Ma will be bothered." ”

Wang Shu smiled, made a gesture to send off the guest, and said: "Shifu, send the horse senator back to the account, and treat the students." ”

Ma Kuo gave him a salute, and gave a salute to the handle of the knife, and Li Shifu came out with pride. Wang Shu looked at his back and sighed: "This person is also a martial artist, it is really rare." ”

At this time, he asked: "In the opinion of the privy council, is our army advancing or retreating?" ”