The war between Liaoxia and Xia caused by the conflict between the border guards entered the stage of diplomatic communication. The situation of the two sides using swords and guns stopped for the time being, while the war between Song and Xia became active, and the two sides continued to conduct tentative attacks. At the front of the two sides, there is a small outpost, and each side has a squad of about 100 people, because the terrain is precipitous, it is not suitable for large troops to enter and exit, and the military position is not very important, so the two sides have never had direct contact except for each other.

At the time of the change of guards, this small outpost with zero war casualties first quietly changed the captain of the guard, and then the soldiers here were also replaced in batches, and the outpost, which was originally only 100 people, had a complete change of blood in more than ten days, and all the people were replaced. Immediately afterwards, a line of footprints appeared on the snow-covered mountain beam between the two outposts, which were quickly covered by scattered snowflakes and snow chips swept by the mountain wind, but soon, two more lines of footprints appeared there.

The footprints are more and more numerous and denser. On the snow on the mountain beams, a solid path gradually stepped out, and the wind and snow could no longer cover it. The secret contact between Song and Liao, under the cover of large and small wars launched by both sides, began here.

Through this outpost, the first letter sent to Yang Hao in Xiazhou was written by Zhang Xun and written by Lu Duoxun.

“…… Fuzhou folded the clan, the heart to the imperial court, I set up, that is, into the pilgrimage to see, Taizu was pleased, leaning on the confidant, so entrusted with a heavy task, the edict of the folded family town in the clouds, since the imperial trilogy, thought that the national barrier. In the seventh year of the Taiping rejuvenation of the country, he colluded with the rebel general Chizhong in the clouds, raised troops to seize Fuzhou, and fled with his family, begging for aid in Beijing. The Son of Heaven raised troops to crusade against Hexi, but it was really to protect the Zhe clan and punish disrespectful, how could it be punished.

However, he was stubborn and stubborn, and he did not know that there was a creation of heaven and earth today, and he brazenly stood on his own feet and defeated the king with his ministers. This is a great rebellion. The rebellion in Hexi shook China and foreign countries, and those who heard it were all indignant, and they all asked for troops to be sent and punished for rebellion. However, the Son of Heaven is gentle and far-reaching with the virtue of civil and military, and often has a compassionate heart, so he said to the left and right: The imperial court must not support its side with the power of the four seas, but only remember the original intention of the first emperor to love the foot, and the credit of opening up Hexi and appeasing Zhuhu under his feet, and he is unwilling to lose a single day, let alone make thousands of lives in Hexi miserable, so although he ordered Pan Meixing to raise soldiers, he still earnestly said: 'There is no war, no innocent is killed, and the king's soldiers are also. ’

The saint is benevolent to rule the world, virtuous, and has the style of the ancient sages. At the end of the first thought of the province, how could the Son of Heaven have lost at his feet. What is there to repay Your Majesty? Now the confrontation in Hexi, the Liao people took the opportunity to make chaos, raised troops to Fengtai, and had ill intentions.

Lu Duoxun, Zhang Xun, and his colleagues in the court, Yu Tianzi is his parents, and Yu is a brother. How can he be filial to his father and mother and not to his brother? Therefore, it is a step one by one. Since ancient times, if the name is not right, the word will not go well, and if the word is not good, it will not be done. Under the order, he was stationed in the western land, even if he governed thousands of miles and ruled over millions, he should also abide by the courtier's courtesy, and be the same as the Son of Heaven? Is it just to be famous? If you are obsessed and do not repent, you will only ruin the people, hurt the benevolence of heaven and earth, and be taken advantage of by the Hulu, and the relatives will be painful and the enemies will be happy.

But there is a love for the people, the heart of loyalty, should remove the emperor's crown, go to the emperor's name, bow his head to his ear, and ask for sin. The benevolence of the Son of Heaven will not add to the crime, and he can still reinstate the difficult moderation and the position of the right marshal of Hexi Long. In this way, if you lose a number and protect the peace of one party, go to an emperor's crown and protect the first level, why not, the world will not praise the virtuous foot! When the time is tributed, the country is not called, the people of the world are not trapped, and the people of the border are restored.

If you are fortunate enough to hear it, you will share its beauty and the troubles of the border people. If he doesn't listen, although he has invited to the court, he will have regrets about eating the umbilicus. Lu Zhangjin's words are not only beneficial to the king, but also to serve the training of the monarch and relatives, save the suffering of the people, and the benevolence of heaven and earth. ”

Yang Hao read the letter of Lu Duoxun and Zhang Xun, and couldn't help laughing, and said: "The dawn has appeared, and the imperial court does not want to fall into the quagmire of Hexi, so it has already negotiated peace." You see, this is a letter from Lu Duoxun, the prime minister of the Song Dynasty, and Zhang Xun. The letter said that as long as I go to the emperor and bow my head to the courtiers, the court will still recognize my identity as the envoy of the difficult festival, and I will lead the land of Hexi, the people of Hexi, and the soldiers of Hexi, haha, Hexi is already in my hands, and the Zhao Guanjia is really generous to others. ”

Ding Chengzong said with a smile: "Our efforts have not been in vain. Now that Song Guo has made a gesture, it will be easy to do next. However, this emperor title can be cut off, but he can't accept the position of reinstatement of the envoy of the difficult festival, and the saint must keep a royal title, so as to maintain the complete dúlì of the Hexi political system, about this, the Song court is afraid that it will not be easy to agree, and it seems that it is necessary to bargain. ”

Chong Fang said: "The Song Dynasty has annexed the two states of Linfu, if you want to negotiate peace, the ownership of the two states of Linfu should also have a good talk with them, Linzhou has long been owned by the saint, and now we want to pay tribute to the Song Dynasty, and still serve the banner of the Song State, so this Linzhou, should it be returned to us?" There is also the confused account in Fuzhou, Chi Zhong is dead, and the court just deducts the basin on his head, and the explanation is unclear anyway, but we can't admit this crime. This verbal battle must be understood. ”

Yang Hao smiled and said thoughtfully: "Go to the emperor and claim the king, return Linzhou, and settle the dispute between Linzhou, I'm afraid that each of these things is not so easy for him to make concessions, especially the ownership of the two states of Linfu, the Song State lost its troops in the Black Snake Ridge, lost face, and it is consolatory to talk about it, that is, it occupies the two states of Linfu, and now let them hand it over?" Difficult! It's difficult, when it comes to the fat in Zhao Guangyi's mouth, if you want him to spit it out, it's as difficult as heaven. However, ......, this condition may as well be put forward, ask for a sky-high price, and pay back the money on the spot. ”

He glanced at Chongfang and Ding Chengzong. Ordered: "Zhao Guangyi let Lu Duoxun and Zhang Xun preside over the peace talks, let's take the lead on our side, before the matter is clear, we must keep it absolutely confidential, and we must not let the Liao people grasp a little information." ”

Chongfang and Ding Chengzong responded in unison: "The minister obeys the order." ”

After that, Yang Hao handed over the matter of peace to Chongfang and Ding Chengzong, and the two passed on the book with Lu Duoxun and Zhang Xun Hongyan, and began secret negotiations, in order to hide people's eyes, Yang Hao still often came forward to entertain the envoys of the Liao State, and tried to resolve the military conflict between Song and Liao peacefully, and the two countries of Xia and Liao also maintained a state of confrontation on the Hengshan line.

And the Song and Liao two forwards of the main generals Pan Mei and Yang Jiye, although they know that the two courts are negotiating peace, but in order to set up a smoke screen and cover, the conflict between the two sides is still uninterrupted.

Xia Guo's reply was quickly sent back to Bianliang, now is not the time to tear his face with the Song court, for this day, when Yang Hao was self-reliant, he did not directly count the crime of attacking the two states of Linfu directly on the head of the Song State, but pretended to collude with Wang Jien and Chizhong, in order to provoke a war and make war achievements, causing the Linfu Rebellion.

Although the Song court thief shouted to catch the thief, he always insisted that it was Yang Hao who colluded with Chi Zhong and plotted against Fuzhou, and now the two sides have the intention of talking, Yang Hao retorted, naturally he couldn't return this crime to Song Guo, so he pushed it to the dead ghost Chi Zhong, and still insisted that he was bewitched by the eunuch Wang Ji'en, and deliberately created an incident to deceive the imperial court.

Of course, which of the two sides is right and which is wrong, this is no longer the point, the two sides just need a step down, as expected, as long as the two sides can reach a settlement, the guilt of provoking the rebellion of the Lin Mansion is bound to be all detained on the headless horseman General Chizhong under the joint planning of the advisers and wise men of both sides, and the core issue of the current peace talks between the two sides is the condition for peace.

Zhao Guangyi heard that Yang Hao asked the imperial court to return the two states of Linfu and to be the king after removing the emperor's title, so he really refused. Although he has now determined the policy of pacifying Xichuan first and then seeking the northwest, even if he can't negotiate peace, it is still possible to temporarily stop the attack on Hexi and maintain the status quo.

However, the main purpose of the imperial court peace is not only to free up his hands to pacify Xichuan first, but also to prevent the Xia State from being cornered and surrendering to the Liao State, dividing the relationship between the Xia and Song Dynasties, and creating conditions for the future Northern Expedition.

In view of this, Lu Duosun and Zhang Xun racked their brains to find a balance that was acceptable to both parties, and finally Lu Duosun wrote and replied that Yang Hao was plotting against the Lin Mansion, and in hindsight, there were indeed many doubts, and the imperial court would verify this. As for the question of the ownership of the two states, the situation is very complicated. First of all, let's talk about Fuzhou, Fuzhou is the jurisdiction of the Zhe clan in Yunzhong, and the Zhe clan has moved out of Fuzhou with his family, and now he is the general of Niu Qianwei, and he is an official in Beijing.

As for Linzhou, the situation is more complicated. Linzhou was originally the jurisdiction of Fuzhou Zheshi, when the volcano king Yang Gon stood on his own, because of his marriage with Zhe, he was entrusted by Zhe to guard Linzhou, Zhe never recognized Linzhou as owned by Yang, so Zhe entered the court as an official, and handed over Fuzhou to the imperial court for governance, then the ownership of Linzhou is self-evident, and naturally it must be directly governed by the imperial court.

At the same time, Lu and Zhang also politely refused Yang Hao's request to remove the title of emperor and become king, saying that now there is only one king with a different surname in the imperial court, that is, Qian Yu, the king of Wuyue, and Qian Yu was crowned the king of the county because he dedicated Wu Yue to the imperial court, and his merits were high. If Yang Hao asks for the title of prince, then he has to follow Qian Yu's example, first hand over all the eighteen prefectures in Hexi to the imperial court, and go to Bianliang to settle down, and then he can be crowned king.

Of course Yang Hao refused to go, Zhao Guangyi's reputation was too stinky, he didn't want to be like those monarchs who died bizarrely and violently before and after, every year when he was born, he held the imperial wine given by Zhao Guangyi, and gambled on it with trepidation. Besides, his ladies are all charming and charming, and they are unique in the world, who knows if Zhao Laoer's wife will have evil intentions, and there will be a few pairs of "Xiling Xing Dong'er Picture" and "Xiling Xingyan Flame Picture" in the future, so isn't his green hat going to wear a thousand generations and be immortal? So I didn't hesitate to refuse.

Because the distance between the two places is too long, and it takes too much effort to go back and forth, Yang Hao suggested that the two sides send plenipotentiary envoys to directly negotiate at the Hengshan front, and then ask Tokyo for instructions on major matters. So Zhang Xun said that he was sick and took leave, quietly rushed to Hengshan, and lived directly with Ding Chengzong in the border posts on both sides of the mountain beam, and began a more intensive negotiation process.

The possibility of wanting the imperial court to return the Lin Mansion is almost zero, this piece of hard bone Ding Chengzong decided to put it to the end, and the first issue of peace between the two sides focused on the positioning of Yang Hao after removing the emperor's name.

In the face of Xia Guo's tough attitude and refusal to make concessions, Zhang Xun quoted scriptures and classics, and actually found a way that Zhao Guangyi could accept, telling Ding Chengzong that Hexi is a place where all Hu people live together, and what Ding Chengzong said is true, and the relationship between the place, the people, and the army and the imperial court is indeed not large, so the imperial court can follow the story of the Han and Tang dynasties, and crown Yang Hao as the Khan of Hexi Shan Yu or Hexi, and take this as a mockery, and pay tribute to the country as a foreign minister in the future, and save the Chinese and foreign systems.

Ding Chengzong felt that this method had obtained practical benefits, and he didn't need to worry too much about the name, so he immediately reported this progress to Yang Hao, who expected to put it but saw the trap at a glance, and pointed out to Yang Hao that in this way, Yang Hao would also classify himself into the Yidi clan, and he could no longer have such a great appeal to millions of Han people in Hexi as before, and from now on it will be clearly distinguished from the Central Plains. If the Song Dynasty tore its face and cut down Hexi again, there would be no excuse to find it, and its internal resistance would be minimal.

When Yang Hao heard Ding Chengzong's reply, he didn't expect the imperial court to have such sinister intentions, so he couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat, and hurriedly secretly ordered Ding Chengzong to refuse, and at the same time threw out a powerful temptation again: Gongfeng War Horse. When Li Guangrui served as the envoy of the difficult festival, the war horses of the tribute were extremely limited, and when his father went to Bianjing for the pilgrimage, the tribute horses he carried were only 500, which also made the court overjoyed. If the imperial court can reach a collegiate agreement with the Xia State, the Xia State is willing to pay a tribute of a thousand horses, and it is a thousand horses per year.

When this condition was transmitted to Tokyo, it really made Zhao Guangyi's eyes hot, but Zhao Guangyi's military force was not simple, Cao Bin and Xue Juzheng immediately pointed out to the emperor that due to the lack of horses in the imperial court, the Song army's system has always been based on foot soldiers, and the necessary horses in the army can usually be obtained through civil and buying. When the imperial court was at odds with the Liao State, it was purchased from Hexi, and when it was at war with Hexi, it was purchased from the Liao State, and when the Liao State and Hexi were in a hostile state with the imperial court, they could also get supplements from the Tubo people in Dali and Longyou, Sichuan, so that the necessary supply of war horses was maintained, and their sources would not be coerced by others.

Now, unless the Song army wanted to form a large cavalry army, it was not necessary to buy horses in large quantities. However, a large number of cavalry, what is needed is not only war horses, but also a lot of equipment and training problems, raising a cavalry can raise at least three infantry, after such a huge investment, once the cavalry corps is really built, the loss of its war horses, old diseases, and its supplement are not the traditional means used before can be solved, it is bound to completely rely on the Xia State, in this way, the army of the Song State is equivalent to strangulation in the hands of the Xia State, once the Xia State stops importing, the cavalry corps built at a huge cost will become a waste, Is this putting one's own army into the hands of others?

No country would take such a strategic adventure, and instead of doing so, it would be better to adapt measures to local conditions and focus on the development of infantry. Moreover, the Song Kingdom did not have a place to raise horses, so it really imported a large number of war horses and formed a cavalry corps, and raising them became a big problem. What is the difference between cultivating a cavalry legion without a place to raise horses, and a country that is completely landlocked and spending a lot of effort to train a navy?

Zhao Guangyi suddenly realized, and immediately replied to Zhang Xun, knowing the benefits, Zhang Xun was shocked to almost fall into Yang Hao's trap, so he politely replied to refuse, the letter said: "The Central Plains is splendid, rich all over the world." For the four feudal domains, the court must have a generous gift of goods and silk every year. Hexi is barren, there is nothing to come out of the war horse, if the foot is subservient to the court, every year to pay tribute to the horse, the wealth or lack of time, the Son of Heaven is generous, how can there be no gift? How can this act of reciprocal exchange be used to blackmail the imperial court?

Yang Hao thought that as soon as the condition of the supply of war horses was proposed, Zhao Guangyi would inevitably take the bait, but he didn't expect that such a tempting thing as war horses would also be rejected by the imperial court, and he couldn't help but be surprised.

In this way, the secret weapon of the jade seal of the country can only be used. Zhao Guangyi could refuse the temptation of the war horse, but Yang Hao didn't believe that he could refuse the powerful charm of the heirloom jade seal. Zhao Guangyi is the Son of Heaven, high up, everything that ordinary people can't ask for in their lives, he can get at his fingertips. As an emperor, his only pursuit is fame, and the owner of the jade seal of the country is an incomparably brilliant fame.

So, Yang Hao recalled Ding Chengzong, and after some detailed planning, Ding Chengzong took the news of the jade seal of the country and rushed to Bianliang, Tokyo, in person......