Ministry of Rites.

The warm sunlight outside the window poured in, but Liang Yi, the envoy of Western Xia, seemed to have fallen into an ice cellar, his face was blue and white; When he came to the Great Song Dynasty for peace talks, he was fully prepared, but when he heard the terms of the peace talks proposed by Yang Wei, the waiter of the Ministry of Rites, his whole person was almost petrified.

Breaking off diplomatic relations with Liao, it's good to say, on the surface, you can continue to communicate in private, and you can fool the Great Song Dynasty.

Just like Goryeo, under the pressure of the Liao State, it also broke off diplomatic relations with the Great Song Dynasty on the surface, but in fact, it didn't often send envoys to pay tribute in private? This combination of interests will not be truly severed by a covenant.

Can be ceded to the west of the river...... Oh, my God! That's most of the territory of Western Xia!

Although a large part of Hexi is a desert, the importance of the Hexi Corridor goes without saying. The territory was confined to the top of the small Hetao, lacking strategic depth, and it could face a two-sided attack by the Song army at any time.

Liang Yi stood up and said indignantly: "No, the land west of the river must not be ceded by my Great Xia, Lord Yang, if the Great Song Dynasty really has the heart of peace talks, please show some sincerity, take advantage of the danger of others to extort, is it the right thing for the Heavenly Empire?" ”

Yang Wei and Liao envoy Xiao Wang competed for a while, and he was still very experienced in negotiation, only to see him reply neatly: "Lord Liang, I want to solemnly correct a point, not to cede, but to give it back!" The land west of the river was originally my homeland of China, and it is reasonable for my Great Song Dynasty to inherit the orthodoxy of China and recover the land of Hexi. ”

Liang Yi smiled angrily and said coldly: "The land of Yanyun is also the so-called homeland of China, why don't you see Lord Yang go to let the Liao State return it?" ”

"This is a matter between Song and Liao, there is no need for Xixia to worry about this, if Lord Liang still wants to talk about it, there is no need to talk about him left and right."

"The Great Song Dynasty put forward such harsh conditions, without any sincerity in the peace talks, it is clearly humiliating my Great Xia, and the envoy asks to meet the emperor of your country to present his case."

Yang Wei was still tepid, and asked lightly: "Humiliation? Xixia enters the northwest of China every year, burning, killing and looting, and doing all kinds of evil, what is this? Isn't that more than humiliation? ”

"Didn't your country invade my Western Xia? Especially last year, the war between the two countries was provoked by your country......"

This is destined to be a negotiation with no results in sight, and the two sides are arguing with each other, both trying to gain the moral upper hand and grinding off the patience of the other side, and it is impossible to make any substantive progress at once.

Yang Yi listened next door for a while, and then left the Ministry of Rites tastelessly. In fact, Yang Yi also knew that it was unlikely that he wanted to obtain the Hexi Corridor through negotiations, and unless Empress Dowager Liang was cornered, it was possible to cede Hexi in a desperate way.

Therefore, the real contest is not at the negotiation table at all, and now it depends on how Zhang Ji plays Western Xia in the northwest; Zhang Qi, don't let people down!

Out of the Ministry of Rites, Yang Yi went straight to Xuande Gate and went to Shangshu Province.

Seeing him coming, Zhang Dian smiled faintly and asked, "Ren Zhi, how are you talking?" ”

"Zhang Xianggong is asking knowingly! If you want to return the land of Hexi to the Western Xia, unless there is hope for the Western Xia to fall into a civil war, it is difficult to talk about it at present! ”

"But do you have another idea?"

Yang Yi familiarly flipped out a map from his case, pointed to the Hexi Corridor and said, "Xianggong Zhang, the importance of the Hexi Corridor does not need me to repeat it. Please see, the territory at the southern foot of the Qilian Mountains is the Caotou Tatar and Huangtou Uighurs, and to the west of Yumen Pass is the Xizhou Uighurs; Gansu, Su and other states were originally taken by the party from the hands of the Huangtou Hui, when the Western Xia was strong, the Huangtou Hui could only endure, and now the Western Xia has become very weak, it is conceivable that the Huangtou Hui, and even the Xizhou Uighurs must be eyeing the melon, Sha, Gan, and Su states.

There are four military divisions in the Hexi Corridor in Western Xia, Zhuo Luo and the Southern Military Division were severely damaged by our Lanzhou Army in Baibeast Ridge last year, and the Yan Military Division of Heishui Town is now divided by Xiangli Qiguang, and only the Gansu Military Division of Ganzhou and the Xiping Military Division of Guazhou are left.

Each military division in Western Xia was about 20,000 horses, and the Xiping military division was a little more, close to 30,000 horses. Calculated carefully, Western Xia is currently only 50,000 to 60,000 horses in the Hexi Corridor, and the western melon, sand and other prefectures are more than 1,000 miles away from Liangzhou in the east, which is difficult to take care of; If my Great Song can send out 20,000 or 30,000 elites, he will suddenly seize Liangzhou. You can cut the Hetao and Hexi in two. ”

The Hexi Corridor is like Yang Yi's lover, he can't forget it! Zhang Dian listened to his words, bowed his head and pondered, in the past, when the Western Xia was strong, if the Great Song Dynasty captured Liangzhou, it would inevitably be attacked by the Western Xia on both sides, you must know that Liangzhou is more than 300 miles away from Lanzhou, and it is difficult for the Great Song Dynasty to reinforce such a lonely city in the absence of cavalry.

But now it is different, Western Xia is now at its weakest, and the twenty or thirty thousand troops on the Guazhou side are being restrained by the Huangtou Hui Hui. Zhuo Luo and the Southern Military Division have just suffered heavy losses, and the troops in the Hetao area are also stretched, let alone supporting Hexi, if the Great Song Dynasty comes to attack on all fronts again, whether the Western Xia can stop it is two words.

This provided a good opportunity for the capture of Liangzhou, and once Liangzhou was captured, the Hetao region would be cut off from the Gansu, Su, Gua, and Sha prefectures, and the Western Xia rule in Hexi would likely collapse.

Zhang Dian thought for a while, frowned and asked, "How many troops do you think you need to send to capture Liangzhou?" ”

Yang Yi immediately replied: "The soldiers are not expensive, 20,000 is enough, and I am afraid that any more will be dragged down by the long logistics line." ”

"What are the odds of winning?"

"Seventy percent."

Zhang Dan's brows furrowed even tighter, 20,000 elites is not a small amount, is it worth taking this risk?

Once lost, the 20,000 horses are likely to be wiped out, and the strategic situation in the northwest will become worse. ”

Yang Yi smiled and didn't say anything!

This is not the Huanzhou that he decided in one word, when he is in Huanzhou, many things can be cut first and then played; In the quagmire of Tokyo, such a major action would not have been possible unless it had been passed in the court.

Yang Yi knew that there was too much involved, and he didn't embarrass Zhang Dan, he put forward such a strategic idea, just to ventilate Zhang Duan first, and it can't be implemented now, but when there is a more suitable time in the future, he can start to implement it.

When he came out of Shangshu Province, Yang Yi's mood was still a little low, but after Xuandemen, his mood became cheerful, he was not the emperor after all, even if he was the emperor, it was impossible to do whatever he wanted, Old Man Zhang was the prime minister, let him worry about it!

In addition, the situation in the northwest is still developing in a good direction, and it is particularly worth mentioning that according to Yang Yi's original plan, Yang Zhi and Ruan Erlang and their dozens of special combat personnel were the backbone to pull up a team among the refugees in Lingzhou, with more than 1,000 people; They robbed the rich and helped the poor in the Helan Mountain area, roaring out and haunting, besieging cities and trapping villages, and distributing most of the wealth they obtained to the poor people who were hungry.

The Western Xia officials called it Helan thieves, but the poor people called it Helan Yishi, it was in the masses that a sense of identity was established, Yang Zhi and they were like fish in water, not only easily escaped the encirclement and suppression of the Western Xia army, but also the team has a tendency to grow; Now this team has become a big problem for the Western Xia, and the Xia army comes to suppress it in a big way, and they will often be broken into pieces, and the smoke will not be in the vast sea of people; As soon as the Xia army relaxed, they quickly gathered again, robbed the rich households, attacked the official warehouse, kidnapped and killed officials, destroyed military facilities, and even infiltrated Xingqing Mansion to assassinate important ministers of Western Xia; This elusive "Helan thief" does not know how many Western Xia ministers were frightened and how many nightmares the Empress Dowager Liang hare. Their destructive power to Western Xia is amazing, Yang Yi was a special combat soldier in his previous life, and this kind of internal rebellion, sabotage, and rebellion is his old job.

The countless refugees in Western Xia were not resettled last year, which provided fertile soil for Yang Yi to implement this plan, and you didn't need to bother to incite it at all, and many people willingly joined in in order to survive.

No matter how strong a fortress is, it cannot withstand the destruction from within. Yang Yi had such a plan at the beginning of the formation of this special combat team, and now the effect can be said to have exceeded his expectations, Xixia, please don't cry for me!

Yang Yi rode back to the gate of his house, and saw Bao Yi waiting in front of the door, he rode a green horse, wearing a narrow-sleeved gown, with a leather belt around his waist, very energetic, and shouted excitedly when he saw Yang Yi: "My lord! My lord! ”

Yang Yi smiled: "Bao Yi! Why don't you come in and sit at home? What's the point of waiting at the door? ”

Bao Yi immediately came and said, "Adult, the small one has been waiting for you for a long time!" I'm going to invite you to a drink today. ”

"Well, now that I'm in command, don't be small, what about Li Yizhong?"

"They're going to book a banquet first, please come with me, my lord."

Yang Yi patted his official robe and said, "You have to let me change my official uniform, right?" ”

Bao Yi smiled wryly: "My lord, go quickly, I'm waiting here." ”

The day of the triennial opening of the department is approaching again, and along with the imperial examination, there is also the triennial Oiran competition in Beijing.

During this period, not only scholars from all over the world, but also local prostitutes with excellent talents and appearances, the solemn ceremony of talent and the colorful Oiran Contest were intertwined, forming one of the most distinctive scenery in Tokyo.

In the area of the old Caomen Street, there are many antique buildings scattered on the ground, there is a small river meandering through the back alley, and the pavilions near the water are carved and painted, which is quiet and pleasant, just like the elegant back garden of the rich and noble.

On a spacious window by the water, a woman in her twenties is leaning against the window, with a beautiful face, thin eyebrows, long eyelashes slightly drooping, and her eyes are like two bottomless lakes, looking at the boats coming and going downstairs with a faint loneliness; She was wearing a water-blue robe, her delicate complexion was like congealed cream, and the cold spring breeze blew on her bright cheeks, like a peony quietly opening by the water.

If Yang Yi saw it, he would be surprised, because this beautiful woman was Qin Cao, in July last year, after Yang Yi went to Huanzhou, she soon refused Han Bi'er to stay and went back to Hangzhou alone.

Now, for some reason, she quietly appeared in the capital, and in a high-end brothel.

(To be continued)