[Catch up with the report during the day, come back at night and code words, speaking of which, counting this chapter, I have written more than 10,000 words today. 】

The bonfire reflected the faces of thousands of Han and Fan warriors.

Under the autumn starry sky, songs and laughter echo by the Jiuquan Pond outside Suzhou City. Piles of bonfires filled the fields outside the city, and the stars in the sky and the bonfires on the ground reflected each other, leaving flickering reflections in the sparkling pool.

After Wang Sunchen left Liangzhou, he led the army westward and did not go fast. It took some time to cross the Rouge Mountain, destroy the city of Dan, and then conquer Ganzhou, which was garrisoned by two party clans with a total of 3,000 soldiers and horses. After that, it also took several days to collect military funds, rest the generals, and mobilize the Tubo tribes and Han Chinese giants in Ganzhou. However, when Wang Sunchen set off again from Ganzhou, he was already accompanied by 3,000 officers and troops, as well as up to 7,000 Han and Fan allied troops.

Just like that, he moved forward steadily and unhurriedly, and Wang Sunchen arrived in Suzhou smoothly. More than 10,000 soldiers and horses besieged the city, and the Xia army of less than 1,000 people in Suzhou City could not suppress the situation at all, and civil strife broke out in the city that night, and several large families in the city opened the city gates. At dawn the next day, the Song army entered Suzhou City without blood.

Suzhou is Jiuquan County in the Han Dynasty, Huo Qu was sick and chased away from the Huns, and had garrisoned troops here. There is a spring under the city of Suzhou, and its water is like wine, and it is said that Huo Qu is sick and poured wine into the spring.

After Wang Sunchen took the city of Suzhou, he invited the elders and elders of the Han and Fan families in the city to pour several jars of spirits into the spring by the Jiuquan pool, and even moved hundreds of jars of various kinds of liquor in the city and poured them into it together.

Under the gaze of tens of millions of people, he scooped up a cup with the golden helmet on his head in the Jiuquan: "The champion of the old year Hou drank with the soldiers by this Jiuquan, and today he will return to the old land with all the sons, how can he enjoy the wine alone, and drink this spring with you!" ”

At this moment, as if the champion Hou was returning to the world, thousands of Han family sons and daughters echoed in unison, scrambling to scoop up the spring water, and the Tubo soldiers were also contaminated by this fanaticism, and followed to scoop water and drink together.

Wang Sunchen raised his helmet again and looked at the patriarch and elder from Suzhou City, "Let's drink a cup together, today we are all Song Chen, and we should share the peace and wealth with you!" ”

The night feast began by the Jiuquan.

The spring water, which melts into countless fine spirits, still doesn't smell much. But around the hot bonfire, surrounded by jubilant laughter and singing, even though the wine spring is not intoxicating, people are already drunk.

How many Tibetan people danced around the bonfire, came back sweating profusely, picked up a horn cup, scooped up the clear spring water by the small lake, closed the crescent moon in the cup, and drank it all. And the Han family erlang from Qindi even picked up a helmet, scooped up a wine spring in the lake, sang the Qin dialect, and drank with his companions who could not speak.

On the bank of Jiuquan, Wang Sunchen raised a glass and invited, and a famous general, the patriarch, and the elderly, drank the spring water. The estrangement between the Han and the Tibetan people also disappeared without a trace on this night, and they put their arms together with the drinking fountain, like brothers.

Cutting off pieces of roast sheep with a silver knife, accompanied by spring water, Wang Sunchen let out a long howl, the sound shook the three armies, and then laughed loudly: "Tonight is so happy!" ”

After laughing, he jumped to his feet, and the golden helmet raised high glittered in his palm: "The general has already sent someone back to ask the Son of Heaven for wine." When a few months later, Ben will defeat Guazhou, Shazhou and Yumen Pass, and lead the army back to the division, and the wine of the Son of Heaven should also arrive. When the time comes, by the Jiuquan pool, drink with all the gentlemen again! ”

……………………

In Liangzhou, Ganzhou, and Suzhou, when the war situation in the east fell silent for a while, the news from the west continued to convey the good news of the victory of the official army.

Wang Zhongzheng leaned on Wang Sunchen this time and showed his face again. But every time he has this luck. ”

"Almost all the soldiers and horses placed in Ganliang by the western thieves were transferred to Xingling, and Wang Zhongzheng and Wang Sunchen both picked up the cheap."

"It's a pity that the sweetness is just incidental, not as good as Yinxia, and not as good as Xingling. Today in the Chongzheng Palace, the Son of Heaven did not mention the battle situation along the way. ”

The combined forces of Qin Feng and Xihe were defeated by the party army that came with victory, and when they were about to cross the Qingtongxia, they had to withdraw to the country. His reward at the end of the road could only be pinned on Wang Sunchen's victory in the Ganliang Festival in Hexi. But because of this, his journey was almost forgotten. Far away from the main battlefield, except for a few occasional good news, reporting that the official army had captured Ganzhou and Suzhou, even the Son of Heaven could not mention Wang Zhongzheng's name for several days.

In the poolside Xiaoxuan, Cai Qu pinched the delicate and small silver cup with three fingers, threw it through the sparse window edge, and looked at the scenery outside the window.

There is only a remnant of the breath of midsummer. In the lotus pond outside the window, the lotus flowers have fallen, and the lotus canopy has also been plucked, only a piece of lotus leaves, or a few broken leaves, and a few stump branches that rise high out of the water.

It's already autumn.

The war began in early summer, and now it is early autumn. The war lasted a summer, and it continues today. In the first half of the summer, the war was in full swing, and the officers and troops won first and then lost, and in the second half of the summer, the war was a little dull, except for a partial division that was constantly moving westward, the officers and soldiers and the western thieves, there was not much movement.

But this kind of calm could not last long, and when the time entered the autumn and high horses, the restlessness of the people's hearts was as loud as the sound of war drums.

Cai did play with the wine cup: "The progress of Hexi, the Son of Heaven did not pay attention to it. However, Han Yukun inspected Daizhou, and Yanmen won a small battle. For the archers on the upper edge, the Liao people did not take advantage of it. The Son of Heaven was overjoyed by this. ”

"That's because of the geographical advantage, on the mountain road, the cavalry of the Liao people can't be used. Back then, the Zhe family made meritorious service in Fengzhou and beheaded hundreds of levels of the leather room army, which is also for this reason. ”

It is rare to have this kind of insight, Cai Cheng glanced at the handsome young official sitting opposite with great appreciation, and sighed: "Han Yukun is bold and doesn't care about disputes with the Liao. But Xiao Xi is in Beijing, and it will be a headache when it comes to the court. ”

"I don't know what Han Gang will think of Xu Xi's matter. Surrendering Yinzhou and Xiazhou is his proposal. Now the official army is stationed in Yanzhou, which is much worse than his previous proposal. ”

"Han Gang doesn't need to take risks, the defeat of Lingzhou has already made him rise in prestige before, and as long as he holds Yinxia, he will win completely. How can Han Gang support Lu Jifu? How could the Son of Heaven not see his thoughts? Cai Qu smiled with a bit of sarcasm, "So Lu Jifu will support Xu Xi." If he said that he would keep Yinxia steadily, the credit would all be Han Gang's. ”

Cai Jing lowered his head, picked up the wine jug, poured wine for Cai Qu, and did not answer.

"What does the governor think of the situation in Yanzhou?"

Cai Qu put down the wine glass and asked Cai Jing to pour the wine. In his opinion, this young man is very discerning, capable and outstanding, and his work in the Department of Health and Welfare is very good. Although they are of the same sect, they didn't have much contact in the past. Now that he is under his own door, as long as he has been tested several times, he can rely on him as a confidant.

"It is definitely easier to defend Yinzhou and Xiazhou than to defend Yanzhou. The western thieves want to attack Yinzhou and Xiazhou, and they are thousands of miles away from Xingling, and they have to cross the Hanhai Sea during the process, and the difficulties can be imagined. In terms of grain, there are only seven or eight days at most to attack the city. With the means of the party members, how could it be possible to attack it in such a short time, and then they would have to withdraw from the army. One bad one is a copy of Lingzhou. Cai Jing obviously worked the western affairs, and did not hesitate when answering, "However, attacking Yanzhou, there is also the Hanhai barrier, compared to Xiazhou, it is only two or three hundred miles less, and the grain of the western thieves does save a little, but it is not much, at most it will take half a month." The difference is not as big as it seems. ”

"On the side of the official army, the road from Qinggang Gorge and Lutuokou to Yanzhou to the north is much closer than the grain road through the Wuding River. The camel mouth was originally a field set up by Li Jiqian to sell the salt of Qingbai Pond, and the salt lords who walked this road did not know how many, and the road was also very complete. At the beginning, Gao Zunyu's Huanqing army was ahead of the planting and conquered Yanzhou. The grain and grass will go north from here, and there will be no delay and delay no matter how you look at it. ”

"The officers and soldiers have no shortage of food and grass, and they can only try to solve the problem quickly without delay. Looking at it this way, Lu Jifu's risk is not as big as he imagined. ”

In Yanzhou, Shizhou, and Youzhou, which have become desolate, even the party people cannot get food and grass supplies, and when they reach the city of Xiazhou, they only have seven or eight days at most to attack the city, and then they must withdraw the army. It is absolutely invincible, and this is recognized by both the DPRK and China.

"But whether Xu Dezhan can hold Yanzhou is still a little difficult to say." Cai Jing added, "Although he is mobilizing people to build additional city defenses, in a hurry, it is impossible to build Yanzhou as impregnable." ”

It is not surprising to know the plight of Western Xia, but Cai Jing still has an understanding of Yanzhou itself, which is very rare, and many things are not for officials of his level who have never been to Shaanxi can inquire. Cai was quite satisfied with this: "I didn't expect that Yuan Chang knew so much about side affairs. ”

"When I went to the north here, I said that I was the leader of the team to teach the pox method, but when I saw the father of Da Liao, he must have mentioned side matters."

This time, in order to appease the Liao State, for the selection of the chief and deputy envoys, the court was very troubled. It wasn't until the last that he decided to transfer back Shen Kuo and let him serve as the chief envoy. According to the rules, the deputy envoy should choose a military general, but this time the situation is different, and he has the task of teaching the pox method, so two deputy envoys were set up, one literary and one martial, and his Chinese deputy envoy was Cai Jing.

"Speaking of side affairs, Shen Cunzhong is of course far stronger than Zaixia, and he has been to Liao, everything is familiar, he will not be bullied by the Liao people, and maybe he can force the Liao people to show their ugliness. When the time comes, the Liao people will pick up soft persimmons and pinch them, and most of them will start with this young and knowledgeable deputy envoy. Cai Jing smiled slightly, "For the sake of the face of the imperial court, the military affairs in the northwest can only be remembered a little more." ”