Two days later, in the middle of the night, Chu Tianya was alone in the room, staring at a sketch he had drawn by himself.

This is a general map of the mountains and rivers north of the Yellow River, which shows the landforms north of the Yellow River and the Taihang Mountains and the counties and towns of important prefectures. In the past two days, Chu Tianya has been discussing with Bai Xu to ponder the possible route of the Jin soldiers' invasion of the south, and to plan countermeasures.

The more carefully he thought about it and discussed it more carefully, the stronger Chu Tianya's feeling became - he couldn't prevent it.

Defense is always passive.

Originally, Kaifeng, Tokyo, where the Great Song Dynasty was built, was a very poor choice in terms of geography and military. It is well connected in all directions, and there are no natural hazards as a barrier. Especially after the Jin State occupied most of the area west of Taihang and north of the Yellow River (commonly known as Hebei), even the Yellow River barrier lost its meaning. The Jurchens' iron cavalry launched their strength, and they could almost kill Tokyo in the morning and evening!

No matter how solid Taiyuan is, if Tokyo is lost, it will be in vain. After all, this is the heart and lifeblood of the Great Song Kingdom.

If Tokyo is lost, the Great Song Dynasty will die!

If the skin does not exist, the hair will wilt?

Although Chu Tianya was very uninterested in the imperial court in Tokyo, now the entire Great Song Kingdom still needs this uncompetitive imperial court to support it. Not to mention, the Taiyuan City he is now in after the disaster, if there is no backing from the Great Song Dynasty, it will definitely still be a ruin. Moreover, no matter how unbearable one's court is, it is also a family matter; If it is served by an alien race, it will be a real disaster!

The more Chu Tianya thought about it, the more powerless and annoyed he felt.

Even though he has the ambition of Lingyun, there is no place to show it.

Although Chu Tianya can already be said to be "covering the sky with one hand" in the area east of Hedong, he is still very small compared to the entire Great Song Kingdom. At least, he didn't have any ability to influence the national policy of the Great Song Dynasty, and he didn't even have the power to write and admonish. Although he now wanted to inform the imperial court of the possible next military action of the Jin Kingdom, he knew even more that the imperial court would only take one attitude towards it - ignore it!

A bandit and grass coward also came to discuss state politics in vain, where do you want to place the Manchu Dynasty officials? -- Even Chu Tianya's advice could not reach the emperor's ears.

Chu Tianya also thought about conveying it to Zhang Xiaochun, but Zhang Xiaochun was just a border minister, and he didn't dare to report this kind of "speculation" advice. The water in the officialdom of the Great Song Dynasty was too deep and too deep, and Zhang Xiaochun's fold would be labeled as "vain provocation" as soon as it was handed to the imperial court, which overwhelmed him and even made him irreversible.

"What should I do?"

Chu Tianya felt a little helpless and helpless. It's like seeing a man who has fallen into the water struggling, but is powerless to save him.

In case Jin Guo really adopts the tactic of attacking Tokyo on the eastern front, it is really impossible to prevent. Tokyo City, the capital of the Great Song Dynasty, which was almost naked and exposed to the enemy, could be broken day and night. Chu Tianya didn't believe at all that those Great Song soldiers and horses guarding near Tokyo could resist the crazy attack of the Jurchen Iron Cavalry. Ninety percent of those people have already broken their guts, and before they really start fighting, half of them will first become deserters.

It's not that the people and soldiers of the Great Song Dynasty are really timid and vulnerable, it's those high-ranking officials and generals who lead the troops who have lost their fighting spirit and courage in the midst of glory and wealth and drunkenness. The soldiers on the Tokyo side were all literati and even eunuchs. The so-called will be a nest of bears, counting on those Wensheng who are full of brains and fat, pampered and pampered, and even eunuchs who don't even have yang energy, to resist the wolf-like Jurchen iron horseman...... Think with your toes to know what the outcome will be.

An important reason why Taiyuan has become a tenacious iron nail that cannot be pulled out by the Jurchens is that it is "disobedient". Last year, Chu Tianya plotted against Tong Guan, who was going to run away, Wang Yu stepped forward and seized the military power, and then united with the bloody bandit Xiangma to launch the common people to jointly resist Jin, which achieved a tragic victory. In the final analysis, this group of people is fighting for survival, so they are united and not afraid of death, and the leadership is resolute and resolute, and the fighting spirit is tenacious and uncompromised, so they can maintain the stability and high morale of the army to the greatest extent.

Every time the righteous slaughter of dogs, it was a group of unruly and impassioned grassroots, who were despised by the scholars, who staged this miracle of victory against the Jin State. If one or two of them were an important leader who did not think hard and then made compromises and made a split instead of thinking about it, it would not have been possible to achieve the final victory.

It's a pity that there are many such people in Tokyo. A group of people who are not united and have no fighting spirit, even if there are millions of them, are just a rabble. Chu Tianya believed that as long as the army of the Jin Kingdom attacked again, Tokyo would inevitably fall!

If last year's southern invasion of the Jin State was just an immature lightning attack, the Jin State just wanted to reap a little benefit as much as possible and punish the Song Dynasty for repeatedly betraying the alliance; Then this time, it will really be a full-scale war. The corruption and incompetence of the Great Song Dynasty constantly stimulated the ambition of the Jurchens. The mere war reparations and a few cities were no longer enough to satisfy their appetites. With the last experience and the fruits of success, the next military action of the Jin State will be more resolute and decisive and have a clear goal, that is, to completely destroy the Great Song Kingdom, occupy the Central Plains, and change the dynasty!

The real crisis has come.

Although he hadn't seen a single soldier of the Jurchens, Chu Tianya already had a feeling that he was on his back. He wanted to know how many high-ranking officials and generals in Tokyo were now enjoying singing and dancing and getting drunk. Even Zhang Xiaochun, the prefect of Taiyuan, who is close at hand, has this same sense of crisis?

Hundreds of millions of people all over the world, how many people smell the danger of the end coming?

……

There was a knock on the "tuk-tuk" door. Chu Tianya, who was nervous, trembled with fright, and couldn't help wiping the cold sweat on his forehead.

"Lord, Xiaosheng asks to see you."

"Come in!"

Bai Xu came in, and when he saw Chu Tianya's expression, his face was a little ugly, and he was surprised: "Is the lord sick?" ”

"Nope." Chu Tianya let out a long breath, "Jingqian, I feel very bad. The deeper I think about it, the more I feel that this time, the Great Song Dynasty is probably really going to die. ”

"Huh?" Bai Xu was a little stunned. Seeing Chu Tianya's expression so serious, he couldn't help but feel a little swaying, "Wouldn't it?" ”

"Yes, very well." Chu Tianya said seriously, "There is no need for any conspiracy, the Jurchens only need to use a yang conspiracy, send troops from the Yellow River on the eastern front with a clear sword and a clear gun, and once again enter the hinterland of the Central Plains in the form of a blitzkrieg, and Tokyo will definitely fall!" ”

"There are heavy troops of the Great Song Dynasty stationed along the Yellow River, and Tokyo is surrounded like iron barrels, plus with the danger of Tokyo last year, where can the Jurchens succeed so easily?" Bai Xu said.

"No matter how tightly a group of sheep surrounds them, no matter how terrifying the formation is, when they hear a wolf howl and a tiger roar, they will scatter first, can they still bite the tiger and wolf to death?" Chu Tianya shook his head and smiled bitterly, "Don't imagine that those high-ranking officials and generals in the imperial court will swear to defend Tokyo to the death." Li Gang, Zong Ze and a few other rare hard-line anti-gold factions have now been suppressed to the point that they can't turn over. The newly appointed official is not much better than his father, the only difference is that he is not very greedy for flowers, birds, calligraphy and painting. Even if he killed Tong Guan and degraded Cai Jing, most of the people in charge of the court were still some servile and flattering surrenderers, just a change of skin! Usually they will put their loyalty and patriotism on their heads and swagger through the market, but once there is really a stir, they are the first to run away or betray the country to seek glory. Da Song, it's really dangerous! ”

"What then?" Bai Xu was also deeply worried, "No matter how well we operate in Hedong and how solid Taiyuan's defense is, we can't defeat the fall of Tokyo!" There are no eggs under the nest, if the Great Song Dynasty perishes, how long can we hold on? ”

"Yes! Although this court is very dissimilar, it can be regarded as a court no matter how you say it, and it is the backbone of the whole country and the people of the world. Once it's really gone, it's another world. Chu Tianya said, "We must find a way to stop the Jin Kingdom from attacking Tokyo!" ”

"What can be done? If you go to the book and give advice, no one will pay attention to it; Raise troops to garrison, they will think that we are rebelling. Bai Xu sighed helplessly, "Hey-I'm really powerless!" ”

Chu Tianya also felt a headache, and he was worried for a while.

At this moment, a voice came from outside the door, "Report - Lord!" The subordinates were ordered to go to Qingyun Castle to inquire about the news, and they came to reply to the order! ”

"Come in!"

The tiger guard entered the door and reported: "Lord, there is an accident over there in Jiao Wentong!" ”

"What?!" Chu Tianya and Bai Xu drank together, and their faces became even more ugly.

When the guard saw this frame, he was a little stunned and didn't dare to say anything.

"Speak!"

"Yes!" The guard responded to the promise and said, "Originally, Jiao Wentong was ordered to go to the Western Xia Kingdom, and at the beginning, it was normal, and the Western Xia Kingdom did not dare to slack off, so he sent officials to receive him. Jiao Wentong sent a letter back to Meng De of Qingyun Castle, reporting that the Western Xia Kingdom had agreed to reconcile with our Xishan, and sent men to help find the whereabouts of the Lord Xiao in his own country. At the same time, the Western Xia Kingdom was very interested in opening a border commercial market along the Yellow River, and sent people to discuss with Jiao Wentong in detail. ”

"Isn't that great, Ichiē is expected." Bai Xu asked with a stern face, "Did something happen?" ”

The guard's face also tightened, "On the night of the eighth day, the post house where Jiao Wentong and his party were staying was attacked by assassins!" ”

"What?" Chu Tianya sighed, "What is the result?" ”

"Because the master of Meng Zhai did not receive the news from Jiao Wentong for several days, he secretly sent people to Xixia to inquire about the news. As a result, I learned that dozens of people in Jiao Wentong's party that night were all killed or missing! "After the murder, a fire broke out in the inn, and it was difficult to find the trace, and the murderer did not leave any strong evidence. ”

"What about Jiao Wentong?" Chu Tianya asked sharply.

"Jiao Wentong was only slightly injured, and escaped with his life under the desperate protection of several henchmen." The guard replied, "After this incident, Jiao Wentong initially suspected that it could be the black hand of the Xixia people, so he didn't dare to stay, and secretly lurked and fled back to Xishan after hardships. I just returned to the cottage the day before yesterday and is currently recuperating from my injuries. ”

"It's a great luck to be unfortunate, Second Brother Jiao is fine!" Bai Xu breathed a sigh of relief, "Then did he say who the murderer was?" ”

The guard shook his head, "Jiao Wentong only said that he was asleep and was suddenly attacked by countless masters. The opponent is fast, ruthless, and extremely strong, not like an ordinary sergeant or a green forest bandit. ”

"It's also thanks to Second Brother Jiao's strong martial arts, and several henchmen around him are also masters who have followed him for many years, so he won't die." Bai Xu said, "Lord, do you want to go back to Xishan now?" ”

Chu Tianya raised his hand to signal Bai Xu to be calm and calm, and after pondering for a moment, he said: "If the situation was very urgent, Meng De or Jiao Wentong would have come to Taiyuan to explain to me in person. Since both of them are so calm, we don't need to panic too much. Jing Qian, calm down and think about it carefully, who will move it? ”

Bai Xu also fell into deep thought. The guard looked at Chu Tianya and Bai Xu left and right, as if he had something to say, but he didn't dare to speak.

When Chu Tianya saw his expression, he asked, "Could it be that Meng De and Jiao Wentong have already guessed the murderer?" ”

"Yes. The two owners told the villain their guesses. They felt that this should be the hand of the Jurchens. The guard said.

"Wolf Fang." Chu Tianya and Bai Xu spoke in unison.

The guard was taken aback, "That's right. That's what the two village owners said too! ”

"Apart from the wolf's fangs, Xiao Sheng can't think of anyone else who can beat Jiao Wentong so wolf in an instant, and it is when he goes deep into the territory of the Western Xia Kingdom." "And they have enough motivation and reason to do it." ”

"That's right......" Chu Tianya nodded with a frown, "The Western Xia Kingdom borders my Great Song Dynasty, especially for Hedong, the geographical location is particularly important. They are like a dagger against our waists, which can be pulled out to kill the enemy, and they can also be plunged directly into our waists. After the Jurchens destroyed the Liao State, the Western Xia State, which was originally subjugated to the Liao State, also declared its submission to the Jin State. In the final analysis, this is a means of self-protection adopted by them in order to avoid the attack of the Jin State. In fact, they were also afraid of being annexed by the Jin State by force. Therefore, over the years, he has secretly colluded with the Great Song Dynasty to make peace in wartime, hoping to secretly form an ally of the Great Song Dynasty and resist the Jin State by force when necessary. Therefore, the attitude of the Western Xia Kingdom towards the Jin State was uncertain and inconsistent. At the same time, the Jin state also wanted to win over the Western Xia kingdom as much as possible, so as to weaken their resistance to southward conquest. This time, Jiao Wentong went to Western Xia, and the most unhappy person in his heart must be the Jurchens. Of course, they don't want our Hedong Rebels to have a Western Xia ally by their side, not a vicious dog they have raised. ”

"Then, it is logical that Wolf Fang secretly assassinated Jiao Wentong." Bai Xu slapped his fist in annoyance, "If we can kill Jiao Wentong, it will undoubtedly be a heavy blow to us; Even if they can't be killed, they can blame the Western Xia Kingdom, or achieve the goal of deterring the Western Xia, thus leading to a complete rupture in our relationship with the Western Xia Kingdom. This is a move that is sure to win without losing! ”

"It's really ruthless!" Chu Tianya took a deep breath, "Thousands of calculations, I really haven't calculated this trick." Calculate the time, before and after is almost the time when Shi Liai's old fox set off from the north. Wanyan Zonghan must have sent all his wolf tooth guards to Shi Liai's envoy. Shi Liai found out about our movements in Xishan, so he sent wolf fangs to infiltrate the Xixia Kingdom to make a move! - Damn it! ”

"yes, this trick is really ruthless!" Bai Xu also said, "Even if we don't believe that it was the people of the Western Xia Kingdom who wanted to kill Jiao Wentong, they also achieved the goal of deterring and threatening the Western Xia people. Now, the Western Xia Kingdom will definitely not dare to establish diplomatic relations or trade with me. Wolf Tooth can attack a first-class master like Jiao Wentong in a well-defended pavilion, and he can easily enter their palace and cut off the head of the king of Western Xia! In addition, Western Xia was already afraid of the Jin Kingdom - this assassination was simply an example to the chickens and monkeys, and it was even more deterrent than the 100,000 soldiers at the border pass! ”

"Shi Liai this old thief, I really want to kill him!" Chu Tianya was a little angry, and slammed his fist on the table.

"Lord!" Bai Xu arched his hand, "It's better for us to treat others in the way of others, tie up the old fox Shi Liai, and catch it!" ”

"Well, kidnapping the envoy of the Kingdom of Jin?" Chu Tianya was stunned at first, and then his eyes lit up, "Why didn't I think of it?" ”

"Do you think it's feasible?" Although Bai Xu was already angry, he still remained calm.

Chu Tianya's eyebrows tightened and fell into deep thought, and after a long time, he said: "I thought about it carefully, kidnapping Shi Liai made him unable to return to the Jin Kingdom, although it is a little useful, but it is not too significant. After all, he is only a strategist, not a core figure who holds real power. Although he is dangerous, if I don't let him go back to Wanyan Zonghan's side, I feel a little bottomless in my heart. ”

"Why?" Bai Xu asked in surprise.

"Because I finally got to know Shi Liai, and Wanyan Zonghan obeyed him. If I catch Shi Liai and don't let him go back, then I really don't know what Yan Zonghan is going to do next. Chu Tianya said, "Shi Liai is very cunning and has found out a lot of news from us, but I really need him to return to Wanyan Zonghan with these things, and then give advice to Wanyan Zonghan to lead the next military action." ”

Bai Xu's eyes widened, "Lord, you are!" ……”

Chu Tianya waved his hand, and the guard retreated very interestingly.

Chu Tianya asked Bai Xu to come to his ear and whispered to him for a while.

Bai Xu's mouth opened wide, and his face turned a little frightened.

"Lord, you actually want it! ……”

"Silence!" Chu Tianya's face sank, "Don't say a word about this matter!" ”

"Yes, the subordinates remembered!" Bai Xu solemnly clenched his fists and promised, and then said, "Then we, just let Shi Liai swagger back?" ”

Chu Tianya's face was silent and he nodded slowly, "If you don't put a long line, how can you catch a big fish?" Look, I don't want Shi Liai to bow down to me obediently, I also want to let Wanyan Zonghan lose completely! -- There is a saying in this world that is called being clever but being clever is mistaken. Shi Liai is too smart, if he is not smart enough, I will not be able to use this strategy! ”

"Lord, this is too risky!" Bai Xu is inhaling cool air.

Chu Tianya's eyebrows sank, "With the current critical situation and the comparison of the strength of our two sides, if we don't take risks and don't make surprise attacks, do we have a chance of winning?" ”

Bai Xu shook his head.

Chu Tianya took a deep breath, "At this time last year, I, Chu, dared to risk the world's condemnation single-handedly; Now that I have 100,000 warriors under my command, what else do I dare not do? ”