After Brother Cha returned to Xingqing Mansion, he first pleaded guilty to the imperial brother, stated the reason for the defeat and his experience after escaping from the Song army, and the secret conversation with Zhao Ta was hidden by him. Li Qianshun was employing people, so of course he would not condemn himself, but comforted him with kind words and asked him how to deal with the current situation.

Tsargo began by analysing the current situation. After the defeat, he had a full understanding of Zhao Ta's Hedong Army, especially the combat strength of its pro-army loyal and brave army, and knew that he was not an opponent, if he continued to fight with the strength of the country, even if he won, it would be a tragic victory, this is just a simple loyal army, once the Song army and other troops participated in the war, it would be a disaster to destroy the country. And now that the Shaanxi army has entered the war, it has been beyond his expectations, if Zhao Ta and the number one 'god of war' Tong Guan of the Song army are truly united, the good days of Western Xia will be over.

Now that all the lands occupied by the south and east of the Xixia River have been lost, and their forces have almost been completely annihilated, the status of Hexi has risen and become increasingly prominent. Hexi was a multi-ethnic region populated by four ethnic groups: Dangxiang, Han, Uighur and Tibetan, with the Tibetan and Uighur being the most powerful.

The Uighur tents in Hexi were distributed in Heli Mountain, Junji Mountain, Juyan Saizhu Road, including Zhangye, Dunhuang and other places, although they belonged to the Western Xia, but each set up a ruler, divided the clan tents, and had the right to pay tribute and trade to the Song and Liao alone. During the Qingli period, the prince of Shazhou even wrote directly to the Song court that he was willing to lead the leader to fight thieves (party items) for the imperial court, so the Uighurs had a certain number in Hexi, and their power was relatively strong. The relationship between Tibet and Western Xia was also very complicated. Hexi was invaded by Tubo in the late Tang Dynasty, and after the founding of the Song Dynasty, it maintained a good relationship with Lu, and after the Western Xia seized the five prefectures of Dingnan, it sent troops to Hexi. seized the territory of Tibet, so the two ethnic groups were not so harmonious.

In order to stabilize Hexi and prevent rebellion, the Western Xia set up five military supervision divisions in Hexi, with a total of more than 100,000 soldiers, whose role was mainly to guard against the rebellion of the Western Domain and the Uighurs. How could Brother Cha not know the benefits of the road after fighting in Hexi for more than ten years, if a large number of troops were drawn from Hexi to fight a decisive battle with Song, the backyard might catch fire. The suzerainty of Liao, which has always been the backer of Western Xia, was defeated by the Jin State at this time and was unable to form an army. Self-protection is a problem, and it doesn't seem to be a problem...

After a comprehensive analysis, Cha Ge believed that under the current situation, peace talks with Song should be held as soon as possible. Even if it costs a certain amount, it is necessary to reach a collegiate agreement as soon as possible and strive to get a respite. The two brothers thought of a piece this time, first to keep Hexi in order to make a comeback, Li Qianshun not only immediately restored Brother Cha's position, but also promoted him to the Privy Council. In charge of all affairs, he is fully responsible for the affairs of the Song Dynasty.

Brother Cha made a strong return, first mobilized his cronies to enter Beijing, and first removed Li Liangfu, the deputy envoy of the Privy Council, from his post on the charge of sending aid to Lingzhou. He was demoted to the commander of the Shazhou Supervisory Army, and he acted as the Privy Councillor to act as the commander of the Xingqing Prefecture. controlled the Gyeonggi region, and the main battle faction was completely silent for a while. The Lord and the faction had the upper hand, and there was only one voice left in the court.

Then Brother Cha sent people to bring a large number of jewels and beauties to the Song State, and went to Bianjing to meet with Shu Wang Renli, who had negotiated peace with the Song Dynasty in the early stage, and asked him to bribe Liang Shicheng and Wang Hao and others to persuade the Song Emperor to call off the army and negotiate peace; At the same time, the Xia army deployed on the other side of Lingzhou retreated ten miles to show the attitude of Western Xia, while he himself secretly went to Lanzhou to meet with Tong Guan and persuade him to withdraw to the Shaanxi army.

Of course, he can't forget his old boss Liao, it is said that Liao is the suzerainty of Xia, and Qianshunkai is on the side of Liao, both morally and substantively, and is ready to welcome Emperor Tianzuo of Liao, who was beaten by Jin soldiers like a lost dog. However, Cha Ge keenly felt that the Jurchens who had suddenly risen were already in full swing, breaking the original political situation of the coexistence of the Song, Liao, and Xia kingdoms, and becoming the fourth party with the most powerful force. So he played a duplicitous trick, on the one hand, he sent people to Yunzhou to comfort the Liao Emperor Yelu Yanxi, and asked him to send an envoy to mediate the relationship between Song and Xia, but he never mentioned the matter of welcoming Feng and sending troops; On the other hand, he secretly saw the golden envoy ......,

The wind and snow were raging outside the house, but the prince of Lingzhou City was warm in the back hall, and the fragrance of wine was overflowing, Zhao Ta set up a family banquet to entertain Yao Gu and Han Shizhong and others from Jingyuan Jingluo, and they did not use the commonly used meal system, but sat at a table in a group, and only Han Tong and Qin Feng of the Hedong Army were accompanied.

"General Xiao Yao, I didn't expect you to go back so soon, I had already recommended you to the Holy Lord as the Commander of the Yanzhou Soldiers and Horses, now come and see... Alas! Zhao Tan sighed helplessly at Yao Pingzhong, raised his glass and invited Yao Gu to drink.

"Lord Wang, the military order is like a mountain, Captain Tong wants us to return to Shaanxi as soon as possible to defend, and the last general will not have that blessing!" Yao Pingzhong poured wine for the prince and said.

"The prince is lenient and righteous, not good for the past, he recommended and promoted the dog, but the last general was disrespectful to the prince the day before yesterday, and he abruptly punished the prince!" Yao Gu got up and raised his glass.

"No, since you punish yourself, how can you use a small cup for a big bowl, and this king and General Yao will drink together!" Zhao Tamara Yao Gu sat down and said.

"Yes, yes, change the big bowl, this wine glass is too small, it's not pleasant to drink!" Before anyone else could speak, Han Shizhong drank all the wine in the cup and shouted to change the bowl.

"Okay, Zhao Xin will change all the big bowls, let's have a good drink!" Zhao Ta waved his hand and said to Zhao Xin behind him, and after pouring the wine again, he drank a bowl with Yao Gu.

"Oh, this wine is strong!" Yao Gu finished drinking, wiped the residual wine on his lips and said, "Since ancient times, heroes came out of youth, and when the prince was weak, he led the army to defeat the Western Xia and smashed Lingzhou City, and the last general was in the northwest for more than ten years, and today he can enter Lingzhou City with the prince, this life is enough, and he has completed the wish of his father!" ”

"Hmph, Captain Tong is too unkind, our Shaanxi Army General Liu Fa was defeated and killed, Brother Cha's soldiers forced Jingxia City, the Shaanxi Army was panicked, after the prince sent troops to relieve the siege, he reported a great victory, but General Liu Fa was stained 'disobeyed by the commander's orders and entered the army without authorization', and the responsibility was all put on a dead man, poor General Liu Fa not only did not get compensation, but also his reputation was tarnished!" Han Shizhong drank a bowl of wine and said, "Brother Cha went east, Hedong was lost, but he didn't send a single soldier, but when the prince defeated Brother Cha, he went all the way to Xiazhou but grabbed the merit with a shy face, what did you say to go to Lingzhou, I'm sorry!" ”

"General Han, you drank too much, don't talk nonsense, this kind of big thing is not something you and I can understand!" Yao Gu glared at Han Shizhong, lowered his voice and said sharply.

"Hmph, what's a big deal, it's all a matter of reluctance, at this time, why did you say that the Xia army sent troops to Hehuang, let us go back to the military war, who are you fooling? Xixia was killed by the prince more than 100,000, how many people can he do in Xixia, now we can enter Xingzhou at any time, he Xixia still dares to send troops to commit Hehuang, unless Li Qianshun is a fool! Han Shizhong was not convinced, and said with a cold snort.

"Shizhong, how can you talk nonsense in front of the prince again, shut up and pull him out!" Yao Gu waved his hand to his son and said, then turned around and hurriedly complained to the prince, "Prince, Shizhong drank too much and collided with the prince, don't you mind!" ”

"Shizhong is a cheerful person, I also like cheerful people, how can I blame it, sit down and drink together, Captain Tong must also have a hard time, otherwise he will not transfer you two soldiers and horses back!" Zhao Ta pulled Han Shizhong and asked him to sit down next to him, and played a round.

"General Yao, let's have a drink too!" Han Tong also hurriedly picked up the bowl and said to Yao Gu, "General Yao, the prince is not a stingy person, although he can't tolerate a trace of sloppiness in official affairs, but in private, he is like us military men, unruly!" ”

"General Han, although I have been with the prince for a short time, I can also see that the prince is a person, not only has the ability to lead the army, but also a bold person, as long as you look at the soldiers of your Hedong Army, you can appreciate a thing or two, you can be a general in Hedong, it is a great blessing!" Yao Gu drank his wine and said. …,

"General Yao praised, my Hedong Army is not on the table compared with the loyal army of the prince, and only Captain Tong's victorious army may be able to compete with it!" Qin Feng poured wine for Yao Gu.

"Hmph, although there are 50,000 people in the Jiesheng Army, known as the head of the Western Army, in my opinion, regardless of others, only the combat strength is probably inferior to the soldiers of the loyal and brave army, and the head of the Western Army will be replaced by the loyal and brave army!" Yao Zhongping interjected.

"Jieshengjun let me see that it is an embroidered pillow, a straw belly, a day of arrogance and domineering, but they dare to say that they have seen blood on the knife, I am afraid that on the battlefield, they will have to pee their pants!" Han Shizhong said indignantly, "They received the highest salary, the best treatment, and the war horses ate better than us, but they never went into battle during the war, but every time they were indispensable, if it wasn't for the prince to preside over this time, I'm afraid the last general would still be a lieutenant of Jinyong!" ”

"Alas, our Great Song Dynasty may only have a pure land in Hedong!" Yao Gu picked up the bowl and said to the prince, "Lord, the last general is old, although these two children are reckless, they are also fierce generals, if the prince does not give up, please take them in!" With that, he drank the wine from his bowl.

"General Yao, the king can't agree to redeem this, although this king loves talent, but he also knows that he can't win people's love!" Zhao Ta refused, "The two of them are not things in the pool, there will be a time when the king can dominate one side at this time, but after the war, even the king does not know, the soldiers should defend the country and make contributions on the battlefield, but if they follow the king... I'm afraid it will delay your future! However, this king has already repaired the book to Tong Taiwei and recommended the two young generals to him, thinking that he will also sell this king to save face. ”

"......" Zhao Ta said, several people were silent, they all knew that what the prince said was true, with his identity to be able to manage one side, but also the consequence of being calculated, now to achieve such a feat, it will make people vigilant, whether they can stay in office is unknown, the prince refused to think about them.

"Although the young general can't follow the prince around, as long as the prince has a day when the young general is useful, he will never give up!" Han Shizhong got up and gave a big salute and said.

"Lord Wang, if you can use my Yao family, you will definitely live up to your trust!" Yao Gu and Yao Zhongping got up at the same time and said... (To be continued......)