Ancient China, compared with the rest of the world, had a longer period of peace, so it accumulated more material wealth and institutional experience, and was more prominent in terms of cultural soft power. In this way, in diplomatic activities, we are often in a good state of calmness and reasonableness. Diplomacy is a comprehensive display of multiple international relations, economic interests, military strength and cultural status, no aspect can be absent from diplomatic activities, and the absence of any party will damage the overall interests of the country.

China believes in the principle that the extreme of things must be opposed, so it does not unilaterally pursue the maximization of its own interests, because the maximization of temporary interests is most likely to damage long-term and overall interests. A country's strength is the guarantee for defending the basis of its interests, but excessive appeal to strength will leave the impression of bullying others, and in the long run, it will damage its own greater interests. But interests are the pursuit that the country cannot give up, and seeing the meaning of the truth is the fundamental creed of the Chinese, and moral appeal reserves the greatest space for the display of cultural soft power.

In the final analysis, the most fundamental solution to the differences between countries is culture, which, according to Chinese tradition, is called "culture". Force is the last resort and can only be used as a last resort, and force cannot be used on a regular basis, but it cannot be used without force. Regular diplomacy is trade, economy, and the most popular form of exchange is culture, but it is also the slowest to produce results, which requires generations, even hundreds of years of operation.

The two countries of Song and Liao's cultural and statecraft were thought out of and considered from a similar perspective, which made it possible for the two countries to have dialogue, and it was easy to eliminate their differences and resolve the contradictions between the two sides, and the common enemy also made it possible for the two countries to form an alliance. But there is still one more opportunity to make this happen. Only then can both sides sit down and talk calmly. Last year, Gao Chang jumped out and acted as a hero, so that Zhao Ta saw the opportunity to go west, and he decided to destroy it first on the grounds of betraying the alliance. In order to gain a foothold in the west, this inevitably clashed with the self-proclaimed protector of Western Liao.

Although Zhao Ta believes that strength determines everything. However, based on the tradition of the state of etiquette and the pursuit of practical interests, he chose the treatment method of 'salute first and then soldier, limited counterattack' in Xiliao, of course, he did not exclude the famous saying that he did not fight and did not know each other, sometimes it is more effective to fight a battle than to talk for half a day, and he can only listen to it after he is convinced. Therefore, Zhao Ta clearly told Gao Pet that the two should not be polite when they should fight, we will not do things that suffer losses, let alone loss-making transactions......

Gao Zhong and Zhao Li drew a circle with the emperor to understand - to teach Xiliao a lesson and kill Gao Chang. Based on this, the two formulated the next battle plan, and they decided to sweep the states north of the Tianshan Mountains with absolutely superior forces. Then south of the Waving Tianshan Mountains. Now that the Great Song Dynasty on the Western Xia side has sent an envoy to ask for the guilt, according to the latest news, Brother Cha has begun to organize the army and prepare to fight together according to the plan, so that the pressure on them will be relieved.

The outline was set, but Gao Zhong and Zhao Li still had a dispute over who would lead the troops to deal with Xiliao. Obviously, after the division of troops, the drought and flood of the two armies were uneven, and it was a tactic of 'fighting the weak against the strong', but both of them wanted to stay and face the Western Liao.

Although Zhao Li was also one of the 'Ten Generals of Beifu', he did not have the experience of leading an army to fight alone after becoming an army, and was more of a staff officer to assist the emperor in handling military affairs and presiding over military training in the rear, and later was ordered to open a military school. In order to train military talents in the army, there has never been an opportunity to experience the battlefield and charge into battle. Therefore, he is more of a 'paper talker' and lacks actual combat experience.

Based on this, Gao Zhong wanted Zhao Li to lead the army to fight Beiting, and Gao Chang's army was weak. If you really have strong combat effectiveness and enough soldiers, you will not be subservient to others. In a humiliating vassal position. Needless to say, the combat effectiveness of the Song army is self-evident, and the generals under his command are all experienced veterans. Just tell them what tactical goals they want to achieve, and they don't need to worry about it. Let Zhao Li lead this way, even if there are any mistakes. There will never be any major mistakes.

The Song army that faced the Western Liao was a miscellaneous brand, not only from different tribes, but also not under each other. The main force of the Song army left behind was only two infantry brigades, but it was the Western Liao Army, which was dominated by cavalry, that had to be fought against. Needless to say, the combat effectiveness of the Western Liao Army is the best proof that they can sweep Central Asia and conquer several countries. Facing an experienced and combat-ready army with a lack of coordination can lead to irreparable defeat and potentially ruin the entire Western Expedition.

Zhao Li rejected Gao Chong's kindness, insisted on staying in Yanbo City to face the Western Liao Army, and after a dispute between the two, they didn't know who persuaded whom, anyway, Zhao Li stayed, and Gao Chong led the army to attack Beiting. At the same time, they transmitted the passage and deployment back to China through the news transmission channel of the caravan, and played the emperor to say goodbye......

The north court was established in the first year of Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, and the jurisdiction is in the west of Yizhou, so it is called Yixi. The governance is located in the Beiting Metropolitan Protectorate, and the Jiedu envoy is also the Beiting Metropolitan Protection, so it is commonly known as the Beiting, also known as the Northwest Courtyard. It governs the three prefectures of Yi, Xi, and Ting, as well as the military towns and guards in the Beiting Prefecture. He also set up the Han Navy in Tingzhou, the Yiwu Army in Yizhou, and the Tianshan Army in Xizhou, commanding 20,000 troops, east to Xingxingxia, west to Yuegong City, north to Kunjian, and south to Xizhou Dashahai. Across 10,000 miles, a four-level defense system was established, including forts, garrisons, cities, and armies.

In addition, there are many Han people in Beiting, as early as the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, with the conquest of the Western Regions by the Tang army, a large number of Han people with adventurous spirit followed the army to Anxi, they first settled in Beiting, and then slowly spread to all parts of Anxi, but Beiting, especially the rich Tingzhou, it has always been the most concentrated place of Han people, after a hundred years of development, although Anxi belongs to several ups and downs, but a large number of Han people are still firmly rooted in Beiting, after the Kaiyuan, with the final establishment of the military household system, Beiting and Anxi have welcomed a new wave of Han immigrants.

At this time, there were tens of thousands of Han people in Beiting, who brought advanced farming techniques and techniques, which led to the great development of agriculture in Beiting. After the decline of the Tang Dynasty, the Uighurs moved westward to establish a dynasty that lasted for more than 400 years, engaged in animal husbandry, raised horses on pastures at the northern foot of the heavens, and established a silk horse trade with the Central Plains.

Gao Zhong led the army into the desert again, and after another round of wind and sand, he arrived at the Beiting territory at the northern foot of the sky, and the scene in front of him made him feel that he had taken the wrong path. Since entering the desert, he has been accustomed to seeing the barren Gobi, the endless yellow sand and the continuous snow-capped mountains, but here there is a different scene, the endless grassland, the river flowing with clear snow water, the galloping horses, and the vertical and horizontal Qianmo, as if returning to the south of the Yangtze River again. However, the Han people here are not as welcoming each other as they imagined.

The change of dynasties, the migration of ethnic groups and the prosperity of commerce have made Beiting a multi-ethnic city. The Han people also gradually forgot their hometowns over the long years, changed their beliefs and customs, and even their own language. In addition to the traces of the Han people in appearance, it is only when chatting that he remembers that his ancestors are from the Central Plains, and at this moment he is full of suspicious hostility towards the 'relatives' from his homeland.

The geographical environment determines that it is impossible to connect cities and towns like the Central Plains, and Beiting is more like a super oasis in the desert, so that the population is relatively concentrated around Beiting City, and there is less competition for one city and one place. In the face of the rolling Song Dynasty army, they did not dare to engage in the battle, and retreated into the city to defend it. Gao Zhong waved his troops to besiege the city and set up a large camp five miles outside the city, but did not immediately send troops to attack.

Although the fate of Gao Chang was decided the moment the emperor ordered the westward expedition, Gao Zhong still tried to leave room for peace. He first sent a letter to the city to ask his Great Burke (as the local officials of Gaochang called) to go out of the city to negotiate, hoping to solve the problem in a bloodless way. And he did not give up the preparation of a military settlement if the negotiation failed, and sent scouts to inquire about the news and collect information on the city's defense.

Beiting City is built on a plain formed by alluvium, east of Donghe Dam, west of Xihe Dam, to the Tang Dynasty's Beiting Dadu Hufu of the original Tingzhou expansion, the city site layout is slightly rectangular, about three miles long from north to south, about two miles from east to west, the layout of the city is influenced by Tang Chang'an City, divided into two cities inside and outside.

The outer city is large, with a circumference of nearly ten miles. There is a low sheep and horse city in the north of the outer city, there is an urn city at the north gate, there is a natural river surrounded by a moat outside the city, the city wall is built with earth ramming, the north is high and the south is low, the height is three zhang, the width is two zhang and five feet, the inner and outer city walls have horse faces, enemy platforms, corner towers and city gates, so arranged obviously to defend against the enemy from the north. The inner city is the center of the whole city, located in the middle of the outer city slightly northeast, the circumference of the city wall is about six miles, the official office lives in it, it is the summer palace of the lord of Gaochang country, and it is the political and economic center of the north of the Tianshan Mountain of Gaochang country.

In the face of the Song Dynasty's army, there was a panic in the city of Beiting, and the lord of the country threatened to cut off the trade route and return to the Western Liao, and according to the previous experience, the Great Song Dynasty would compromise. After being rejected by the Great Song Dynasty, they thought that the two countries were thousands of miles apart, and that it was impossible to use force against them at that time, so they were not prepared for war at first. And when they learned that the Great Song Dynasty decided to send troops to fight, they exchanged a lot of money for the Western Xia to break the contract, and bought off the divination people to intercept them along the way, feeling that the Great Song Dynasty would retreat in the face of difficulties.

However, Gaochang did not expect that the Song army would win consecutive battles, and the obstructors would be driven away from their hometowns. At this time, they panicked and invited out the old lord Xiliao, but at this time they also got the news that the Song army braved the wind and snow to enter the Altai Mountains after the defeat of the barbarians. Now they were all relieved, because no one had successfully crossed at this time, and the nerves that had just tensed relaxed again, thinking that the Song army was going to bury the bones in the barren mountain. So when the Song army arrived at the city, they all panicked, and they had different opinions...... (To be continued......)