After Zhao Guangyi retreated, Zhang Zhongyao still stood in the hall in a daze, until the officials of the Ministry of Rites came to urge, and then he followed behind the officials of the Ministry of Rites unconsciously, got into the carriage and returned to the pavilion. He didn't take the initiative to talk to the lords of the court, and the dignitaries and dignitaries naturally didn't bother to associate with the envoys of this vassal state, not to mention that he was so talented that he might get into trouble. Only Zuo Xiaowei's general Zhang Mei sympathized with the Guiyi Army envoys who asked for help, but he had scruples and couldn't come forward to comfort him.

Zhang Zhongyao returned to the pavilion, and An Sidao stepped forward and whispered: "Director Zhu brought some warriors under the former Guannan inspection account to vote. Zhang Zhongyao suddenly woke up, raised his eyes, there were twenty or thirty men standing in the courtyard of the post station, all of them were sturdy soldiers, Zhang Zhongyao saw in the army that although these people were coarse cloth clothes, they looked fierce, and their gestures were all military style, and he nodded slightly and said: "My heart is like numbness, and I am tired of working and resting these strong men for my good life." After speaking, he walked into the post house, closed the door casually, and lay down without taking off his official robe, but he couldn't sleep anyway, and a thought swirled back and forth in his mind: Why didn't the court send rescuers?

The Guiyi Army has been hanging in the desert for nearly two hundred years, and it is hearsay about the situation of the imperial court, but Zhang's family is loyal and filial piety, and the court and the emperor in Zhang Zhongyao's mind must be extremely wise and powerful. However, the officials of the imperial court did not even think about it, and directly pushed the reinforcements over. He is a person with a clear mind, Zhao Guangyi's tone and face when he spoke were in his eyes, and he didn't want to reveal his heart in Hexi's life.

Zhang Zhongyao was lying on the bed like this, staring at the top of the silk tent, An Sidao told him to go out to dinner and was reprimanded by him, the oil lamp in the house burned dry, suddenly went out, and the whole room fell into darkness, Zhang Zhongyao still had his eyes open, as if looking through the dark air, sleepless all night.

On the second day, An Sidao came in with a bowl of hot soup, he had heard the Xiyi officials talk about Gongzi's rejection of his request for help yesterday, and saw Zhang Zhongyao's eyes bloodshot, and said loudly: "Childe, please have breakfast!"

Zhang Zhongyao raised his head, waved his hand a little blankly, he was only twenty years, although he was both civil and military, he had a lot of experience in the Hexi army, and he had also killed many horse thieves and Hu chiefs, but he was born in a family, rarely experienced setbacks, and his temperament was stubborn, and he admired the ancestor Zhang Yichao, who returned to the imperial court in the eleven states of Hexi. This time he was rejected by the imperial court, just like a towering tree that had been believed in for a long time collapsed, almost smashing him to pieces.

"If the imperial court doesn't send rescue soldiers, my Hexi Guiyi Army is born and raised, and I am afraid of who will come! An Sidao is nearly forty years old, and Zhang Zhongyao grew up under his watch. Seeing that he seemed to be unrelenting, An Sidao also ignored the humility of the upper and lower levels, and said loudly: "Wuhexi Guiyi Army has built a town for two hundred years, from the former Tang Dynasty to the Great Song Dynasty, and the Central Plains has experienced six dynasties. What he didn't say was that if it weren't for the Anshi Rebellion in the Central Plains, the imperial court would have transferred all the elite children of the Anxi Protectorate and Hexi Longyou back to the Central Plains, how could the Tubo and Uighurs easily enter Hexi, these complaints had long been spread in the lower echelons of the Hexi Guiyi Army, and they did not dare to mention it in front of Zhang Zhongyao and other children of the family who were loyal to the imperial court.

Zhang Zhongyao waved his hand and said: "You don't understand, in the past two hundred years, although the Central Plains has been chaotic, the Hu people have not fought frequently, and now the Central Plains has been decided, and there are also many heroes among the Hu people in the Quartet. He thought about it all night, and thought deeply, since An Sidao had spoken, he said it in one go, "I look at the national policy of the imperial court, and the recovery of Yanyun is the first priority, but how can the Liao country be easy to get along with, even if Yanyun is recovered, the Liao country will not be willing to rest with the country, and the imperial court will ban the army, and most of them will be placed in the land of Youyan to confront the northern country, and it is difficult to have spare strength to rush to the aid of Hexi." What's worse is that Yanyun has not recovered, but the imperial court and the Liao State have formed mortal enemies, and hundreds of thousands of forbidden troops have been stationed in the northern Hebei Plain for many years to prevent the Liao cavalry from galloping. ”

"Could it be that with the prosperity of the imperial court's forbidden army, it is impossible to defeat the Liao State in one fell swoop?" An Sidao asked.

Zhang Zhongyao shook his head and sighed: "It is still possible for the imperial court to recover Yanyun, but it is absolutely impossible to destroy the Liao State. There are few horses in the Central Plains, the cavalry is not effective, the north of Yanyun is a place where the cavalry is crisscrossed, the Liao people want to fight, and if they don't win, they will run, and the forbidden army is mainly foot soldiers, and they can't annihilate the enemy if they win, and they will die if they lose. Only by consolidating Hexi, the fundamental land of Hetao, and training a strong cavalry army, can we destroy the Liao State in one fell swoop," he thought for a while, felt that this was too full of words, and said, "Even so, in the past, Tang Zhisheng could not completely suppress the Khitan, which shows that its race is prosperous, and it is difficult for the dynasty to complete its work in one battle." He paused for a moment, and then said: "It is a taboo for soldiers to suffer from the enemy on their backs, and since the imperial court is determined to use troops against Liao, it will inevitably make peace with Xiyu, and hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians in the west of Wuhe are afraid that they have become outcasts." ”

These things had been circling in his mind all night, and now that he had spoken them, his face was much better.

An Sidong was not as deep as he thought, and now Zhang Zhongyao explained it clearly for him, but his heart was heavy, suddenly, his mind flashed, and he said in a deep voice: "Childe, I see that the troops of Wu Yingying in Lanzhou are strong and strong, and share the benefits of the east-west trade route with the Wugui Righteous Army, if he is willing to help and become allies, I am afraid that the Uighur Tubo will not dare to invade easily." ”

Zhang Zhongyao was stunned for a moment and sighed: "You have little contact with Lanzhou, and you can actually see that this son is not a thing in the pool." Lanzhou generals are brave and strong, although there are no more than 10,000 soldiers, but they are rare elites in the world, and Wu Yingying is very capable of winning people's hearts. If the Lanzhou army is led into Hexi, I am afraid that in a few years, Hexi will not be owned by the righteous army. ”

"So what? The Cao clan has been stealing the throne for a long time, and the Han people in Hexi are becoming more and more embarrassed, and if the imperial reinforcements do not arrive, the Cao clan will sooner or later be canonized by the Uighurs. If Wu Yingying is really a character as Gongzi said, he will be able to suppress the Uighurs, the Dangxiang, and the Tibetan tribes. He has just arrived from afar, and he will inevitably rely on the power of Gongzi and Zhang. An Sidao was only loyal to the Zhang family, but he had no good impression of the Cao family, the leader of the Hexi Guiyi Army, and immediately advised.

Hearing his advice, Zhang Zhongyao's eyes flashed slightly, as if a lightning bolt cut through the drowsiness, he closed his eyes and thought about his contact with Lanzhou, and felt that although Wu Yingying and others had ambitions and talents, they were not ruthless and unrighteous people who crossed the river and demolished the bridge. Bringing Lanzhou into Hexi is a good plan for both the Han people in Hexi and the way out for the Zhang family. Thinking of this, I couldn't help but smile and said: "Thinking about it, people and scholars should not be impressed for three days, I didn't know that you, a general, still have such a vision." ”

An Sidao said with a smile: "I've been by my son's side for a long time, and Lao An has also read a few books." After speaking, he pushed the noodle soup bowl in front of Zhang Zhongyao's eyes and said, "Son, please have breakfast." ”

Zhang Zhongyao's heart knot was solved, and he suddenly felt that his stomach was rumbling violently, picked up the noodle bowl, snorted and ate in one go, took the face towel handed over by An Sidao and wiped his face, and said: "And I found Director Zhu and the strong men under the Guannan inspection account for me, I didn't belong to my mind yesterday, I am afraid that I treated the strong men lightly, and I don't have to make people feel cold." ”