The fleet that followed Fan Ning to the north was a merchant fleet, consisting of thirty large ships, and the merchant ship was Zhu Qiang, nicknamed Zhu Laoba, Zhu Qi's younger brother, ranked eighth in the Zhu family, and had been able to trade with Mingli for many years, and had been able to take charge of it alone, and there were several chambers of commerce engaged in it.

The ship contained 30,000 stone grain and 5,000 catties of white copper ingots, which were sold to the Three Buddhas and then exchanged for spices and shipped to the Great Song Dynasty, and the white copper ingots were used to exchange glass, velvet blankets, gems and other goods from the Great Food Merchants or Western merchants, and then transported to the Great Song Dynasty.

The goods were handed over to the North Island's trading houses in Quanzhou, which distributed them, and the fleet then brought back the tea, porcelain, silk, and other goods needed by the North Island, as well as the recruited new immigrants, and when they returned, they had to buy a batch of sugar, kapok, and rubber in Luzon before returning to the North Island.

Fanning just went north with them and broke up in the old port, Fanning's 20,000 stone ship went to Luzon Mansion alone, and he also had some goods on his ship, mainly 300 high-quality sandalwood produced on Nuamby Island, but this batch of sandalwood was a tribute to the Son of Heaven and the Queen Mother, whether it could be exchanged for the title of Chu State, it depends on the bridge role played by this batch of sandalwood.

At Luzon, Fanning met Yu Zhuowen, who was waiting for his edict, and Yu Zhuowen was not a eunuch, but an imperial historian, and his other duty was to explain to Fanning in detail the causes and consequences of the defeat.

There is not much difference between the content of the holy decree and the previous edict, but in the end, Fan Ning was crowned as the pacification envoy of Hebei, which was Fan Ning's original position, he was relieved after returning to Beijing, and now it is re-installed on his head, needless to say that Fan Ning also knew that Zhao Ji wanted him to fight the Liao State again.

The 25,000-stone ship then set sail north, and in the spacious cabin, Fan Ning drank tea while listening carefully to Yu Zhuowen's detailed account of the Liaoyang Mansion war.

Only then did he understand why Zhao Ji was in a hurry to urge him to enter Beijing, Cao Shi and his remnants were still trapped in Dading Mansion and could not return to Youzhou.

He pondered for a moment and asked, "Is there any news from Yelu Yixin later?" ”

Yu Zhuowen shook his head, "No more news came." ”

"How many iron fire thunders are there in Jinzhou?" Fanning asked again.

Yu Zhuowen hurriedly said: "There was a big explosion when Jinzhou was lost, I heard that it was the partial general Li Song who detonated all the iron fire and thunder when he retreated, he is now in Dading Mansion, with General Cao, fortunately, the ships transporting firearms are behind, and when the front is on fire, they will turn around and withdraw to the Bohai Sea, and the burned ships are mainly responsible for transporting grain and forage and siege equipment, and do not carry firearms and armor. ”

This news made Fan Ning slightly relieved, although the Song army suffered more than 60,000 casualties, it did not lose the iron fire thunder, which was a blessing in misfortune.

"The imperial court should properly commend this General Li Song, it was he who saved the entire situation in Song and Liao."

Yu Zhuowen asked cautiously: "May I ask the master, can the current crisis be reversed?" ”

Fan Ning smiled slightly, "I don't think it's a crisis, it's just a psychological problem, just like when a person is about to die, there will be a time when the light returns, the Liao State is the current situation, if they defeat the Great Song Dynasty once, can they save its national fortunes?" ”

Fan Ning's strong self-confidence suddenly made Yu Zhuowen admire, Fan Taishi is the Zhenhai Divine Needle of the Great Song Dynasty, with him, the Great Song Dynasty can overcome any difficulties. ”

.........

Ten days later, Fanning rode into the capital by carriage, it is now the middle of January of the second year of Xining, just after the Shangyuan Festival, the atmosphere of the festival is still there, the atmosphere of the whole capital seems a little lazy, there is no hurried carriage, there are no merchants who bow their heads and hurry, everyone is strolling and walking.

The weather is still cold, the snow on the streets has not melted, and almost half of the shops are not open, as if they have not yet woken up from the festival.

Now, of course, there is no war, the north is still a land of ice and snow, and it will not be until two months later that spring in the north will really come.

The carriage slowly stopped outside the gate of the imperial city, Fan Ning got down from the carriage, it was the time of the next dynasty, and officials came out of the imperial city one after another, and suddenly someone found Fan Ning and shouted excitedly, "Master Fan is back!" ”

The officials all saw Fanning and hurriedly ran forward to salute.

"When did Master Fan come back?"

"Master Fan is back, Youzhou is saved!

"Master Fan rushed back when he was in danger, and Da Song was lucky!"

.........

Fan Ning looked at a pair of expectant and excited eyes, he was also quite moved in his heart, and hugged his fists to everyone: "Thank you for your trust, the official family is still waiting, I have to hurry up to see the official family, and I will have the opportunity to talk to you again in the future!" ”

He saluted everyone in a circle, and then followed Yu Zhuowen in a hurry in the direction of Ziwei Palace.

The officials in front of the gate of the imperial city gathered together to discuss, and there were more and more officials in the next dynasty, and soon, the news of Fanning's return spread among the hundred officials.

In front of the imperial study, Fan Ning waited for a while, but saw Zhao Ji, the Son of Heaven, come out in person, "Master Fan, let me wait for a month!" ”

Fan Ning hurriedly stepped forward and saluted, "Wei Chen immediately set off after receiving His Majesty's order, and just entered the city, making His Majesty wait for a long time." ”

"Hey! Come in, let's come in and talk about it. ”

The two entered the imperial study, Zhao Ji invited Fan Ning to sit down, and asked people to serve tea, Fan Ning asked with concern: "How is the situation in Daning Mansion?" ”

Zhao Ji saw Fan Ning ask about the situation in Daning Mansion when he opened his mouth, he was a little relieved in his heart, Zhao Ji was afraid that Fan Ning would put up a fight and find an excuse to shirk, then he had no choice.

"There is still a lot of food in Daning City, and there is no problem with army support for a few months, the key is that there are tens of thousands of cavalry outside the city, so that they cannot withdraw to Youzhou."

Fan Ning smiled slightly: "Your Majesty, why did the Song army withdraw to Youzhou?" ”

Zhao Ji was stunned, "What does Taishi mean by this?" ”

"Your Majesty, Cao Shi has captured Dading Mansion, and in the future, we will be saved from hitting Zhongjing again, which is a good thing! Why worry? ”

Zhao Ji's mind was a little messy, the same thing, when said by different people, the meaning was completely different, everyone was anxious that the Song army was alone and could not be withdrawn, but Fan Ning thought that the Song army had captured Dading Mansion.

"Taishi, if you can open the passage between Youzhou and Dading Mansion, of course this is a good thing, but the problem now is that once Dading Mansion is captured by the Liao army, the Song army is likely to be wiped out, and we can't support ......."

"Your Majesty is thinking too much, in fact, it is just a Jinzhou city, as long as we recapture Jinzhou, all problems will be solved, isn't it?"

Zhao Ji nodded slowly, "Taishi is right, it is Jinzhou, and our army seems to have been restrained by the enemy with fire oil. ”

Fan Ning shook his head, "Your Majesty, the problem of the navy army is not that it was restrained by fire oil, why was it not restrained before, could it be that the Liao army did not have fire oil in the past?" The problem is in the tactical arrangement, Wei Chen told His Majesty that the navy cannot be used as the main force, only auxiliary, the so-called auxiliary is that it must follow the main force on the shore to act, and cannot act alone, once the enemy is ready to attack with fire, it should be the shore army to solve this problem, and after the threat is lifted, the navy can continue to go north. ”

Zhao Ji was both happy and ashamed, happy because Fanning brought him great confidence, but ashamed that he did not listen to Fanning's advice.

"Is Taishi willing to lead the troops to the Northern Expedition to Liao again?" Zhao Ji finally put forward his idea, and at this time, he could only rely on Fanning.

Fan Ning smiled slightly: "Your Majesty has an order, and the ministers dare not obey, but the ministers also have some difficulties, and I implore Your Majesty to support." ”

"What's so difficult about the Grand Master?"

"Your Majesty, this time Weichen went to Beidao, deeply felt that the population of Beidao is too small, and the development is slow and difficult, and I implore Your Majesty to immigrate to Beidao appropriately, and Weichen will remember Your Majesty's grace and guard the southern sea frontier for the Great Song Dynasty."

Zhao Ji said happily: "I promised you to move 100,000 households to Beidao, and I will order the household department to arrange to ensure that within ten years, 100,000 households will be relocated to Beidao." ”

Fanning stood up and saluted, "Thank you for your kindness, and I am willing to do my best to share your Majesty's worries!" ”

Zhao Ji immediately issued an order and reappointed Fan Ning as the generalissimo of the expedition to the north, commanding 500,000 troops, and taking full responsibility for the crusade against the Liao State.

Zhao Ji immediately issued an order to the Ministry of Households, ordering the Ministry of Households to draw up a plan, and within ten years, 100,000 households of the Great Song Dynasty would be relocated to settle in Beidao.

The next day, the front pages of major newspapers carried a bombshell news: Fanning returned and was reappointed as the generalissimo of Peking University.

For a time, the entire capital was boiling.