It was late at night, the north wind was howling, and the snow was falling.

In the Jurchen barracks, there are still quite a few sergeants busy. They are accustomed to life on snowy days, and they know what to do at such times, figuratively speaking, snow removal in the middle of the night is essential. Otherwise, the snow would have crushed the tents and barns all night long.

Wanyan Zonghan sat on a bearskin couch, with an oil lamp in front of him, reading quietly, the eighth volume of "The Chronicles of the Earth". This is a book compiled by Li Tai, the son of Li Shimin, the king of Wei, and many scholars during the Zhenguan period of the Tang Dynasty before the Central Plains, which introduces the geography of the Central Plains in detail.

For the Wanyan family, who aspired to enter the Central Plains and replace the Southern Dynasties, it was imperative to understand the geography of the Central Plains. Wanyan Zonghan is one of the pioneers, who has been devoting himself to the study of Sinology for many years, focusing on understanding and studying the customs and geography and history of the Central Plains. Since the day he raised his army to resist Liao eleven years ago, he has been the most loyal confidant and the most powerful arm of Wanyan Aguta, the founder of the Jin State, and he is also a member of the highest leadership group of the Jin State.

Bo Ji Lie, that is, the predecessor of "Baylor" in the Later Jin (i.e., Manchu Qing) period. The meaning of Bo Jilie in the Jurchen language is "chief".

When Wanyan Aguta established the Jin State, on the basis of the original tribal chieftain system, the Bojilie system was established. In fact, he brought together some of the most important tribal chieftains and military commanders, each serving as a strong man. All the Bo Ji Lie are almost equal in status, and Wanyan Agu is known as the founding king, but he definitely does not have the absolute authority and arbitrary power of the traditional emperors of the Central Plains; All the vigorous use of a very primitive form of democracy to vote on national affairs together, a bit of "democratic republican" flavor.

And all the Bo Ji Lie also have their own duties and names.

The metaphor of Aguta is called "Du Bo Jilie", that is, the emperor; Wu Qimai, who had just succeeded to the throne as the new monarch, once served as the "Knowing Version of Bo Jilie", that is, the prince; Akuta's cousin Wanyan Sagai served as the "national theory is extremely strong", that is, the prime minister; In addition, there are the governor's military affairs, the Kulubo Jilie, and the Haobo Jilie, who is in charge of the country's criminal law, and so on.

As the prime minister of the Jin State, the national theory is extremely strong, that is, the father of Wanyan Zonghan; And Wanyan Zonghan himself is extremely strong, equivalent to a deputy prime minister.

If you want to sum up Yan Zonghan's actions and contributions over the years in one sentence, that is, to govern the army on horseback, and to charge into battle is invincible; Dismount to govern the people, formulate laws, and reform the tax system so that all wastes can be prosperous.

Not long ago, Jin Taizu Wanyan Aguta died, Aguta's half-brother Wu Qimai succeeded to the throne and became the new monarch of the Jin State, Wanyan Zonghan, who was not a relative of the founding hero, was still stable, and Aguta's second son (also the eldest son) Wanyan Zongwang shared the military power and became the two most relied on military leaders of the new monarch of the Jin State.

This time the plan of the southern invasion was proposed by him and Wanyan Zongwang to the new monarch Wu Qimai.

According to the original military plan, the soldiers and horses of the two routes of the Jin State should have used the method of "lightning surprise attack" to take the Southern Dynasty by surprise in the cold winter and the moon, and the target was directly to the heart of the country - Kaifeng Mansion in Tokyo. But now, Wanyan Zonghan's people have been tripped in Taiyuan, and the siege has not been fired for ten days, and the army has a lot of complaints, and Wanyan Zonghan also feels some pressure.

Therefore, when he started reading the book tonight, Wanyan Zonghan was a little impetuous, and he couldn't calm down.

Just turned a few pages of the book, and the mastermind Shi Liai came to see him. Wanyan Zonghan's heart said that it was just in time, I was about to look for you!

The two sat down, and after Yan Zonghan sent the pawn out, he personally scooped a bowl of hot mutton soup for Shi Liai to entertain him, and said to him: "The mastermind came just in time, I have something to ask." ”

"Your Majesty also has something to pay tribute to the wolf lord." Shi Liaidao.

"Well, then you talk first."

Shi Liai arched his hand, and said neither humbly nor arrogantly: "Your Majesty was ordered by His Majesty to take charge of the Privy Council of the Eastern Imperial Court. In principle, his subordinates are still too sparse and shallow. Therefore, His Majesty has come here today to take the blame and resign. ”

"What?" Wanyan Zonghan was stunned at first, and then smiled, "I understand." Maybe you've heard some complaints against you lately, right? ”

Shi Liai smiled slightly, "It's true, it's true." The Dajin Kingdom practiced fierce and fierce restraint, and I was in a prominent position as a subordinate of the Liao State, and it was difficult to convince the public. Now the officers and men in the army have complained about me, and if I continue like this, the authority of the Privy Council will be completely lost, and I will not be able to perform confidential duties, which will be a mistake in the affairs of the state. Therefore, Shi Li Aiken asked the wolf lord to choose another capable person to take over as a minister. ”

"I will not approve your resignation, because you are the best." Wanyan Zonghan said categorically, "Actually, my subordinates have opinions about my military deployment, but they don't dare to target me, so they have to point the finger at you." Mr. Shi, you shouldn't be so hypocritical, because I trust and rely on you so much! ”

A straightforward sentence, a single knife straight to the point, said Shi Li's love is quite ashamed. He sighed and arched his hand: "Your Majesty is ashamed. It's probably because of the fact that I have developed some bad problems in the officialdom for so many years, and I can't get rid of them for a while. ”

"Haha! But anyone who reads books probably has such a problem to a greater or lesser extent, right? Not strange, and I don't mind. Wanyan Zonghan said with a smile, "Mr. Shi, you have to remember that in our Dajin Country, you just have to work hard to do what you have to do, and it doesn't matter what others think or think." Fighting to counter the provocations of others, and using facts to refute the doubts of others, this is the heavenly rule that we Jurchens believe in. Don't think too much, and don't fight in vain, that is the usual method used by the mediocre officials and laymen in the southern country, and it is not enough. ”

"Yes, your Majesty remember the teachings!" Shi Liai was very convinced and bowed down.

"Let's get down to business!" Wanyan Zonghan said, "It has been more than ten days since the troops were dispatched, and our army was blocked in Taiyuan. As for the progress of Zong Wang's troops and horses, we only know that he has successfully taken Yanshan Mansion. Because it is inconvenient to communicate with each other because of the distance of thousands of miles, we don't know anything else for the time being. It was after learning the news of the fall of Yanshan that Mr. Shi boldly proposed a temporary change in the military plan. But I wonder what kind of response we should make again now? ”

"Actually, Your Majesty came to see the wolf lord today, and that's exactly what happened." Shi Liai smiled.

"Oh? Tell me about it! Wanyan Zonghan was in high spirits.

Shi Liai arched his hand and said: "One of the main reasons why we temporarily changed our military plan was that our plan and whereabouts had been revealed, but we had to send an arrow on the bow, so we were forced to turn the surprise attack into a frontal attack. The current siege without attacking and cutting off the auxiliary wings first is completely the way of fighting of regular soldiers. ”

"Yes, I personally appreciate Mr. Shi's advice." Wanyan Zonghan nodded approvingly and said, "In the face of our tactics, Taiyuan will be very passive. If we watch us cut off the forces of Xishan and Taihang one by one, they will gradually move towards isolation; If they dare to go out of the city to save them, they will face even greater risks. In the field battle outside the city, where are the Song soldiers the opponent of my Jurchen Iron Cavalry. But now that the city has been besieged for ten days, Taiyuan City seems to be very calm; On the contrary, our own army seems to be a little out of breath. Also, we are running out of food and grass. The southerners are very hateful, what kind of strong walls and clear the wilderness, we can't find any supplies near Taiyuan at all, and finally take down a Qingyun Castle, but only harvest a pile of ashes! Now we can only rely on the grain and grass we have stolen from the two states of Shuodai for support. Today, the grain officer came to report that the grain and grass in the army can last for two months at most. So, isn't it time for us to do something about it? ”

Shi Liai lightly twisted his long beard and nodded, "These are actually expected by your subordinates. All the soldiers are accustomed to galloping across the fierce horse with a fast sword, and it is difficult to adapt to such a tactic of defending instead of attacking. Therefore, although my subordinates still firmly believe that my tactics will succeed one day, I also have to take into account the mood of the soldiers, otherwise it will affect the morale of the army, and I am afraid that the gains will outweigh the losses. ”

Wanyan Zonghan seemed to be waiting for Shi Liai to say these words, and he had been waiting for a long time. At this time, I couldn't help but smile and breathe a sigh of relief, "Sir, wise! ”