The gaze turned to Xingqing Mansion, the imperial capital of Western Xia.

Li Qingxia received a letter from Li Xu from Bianjing, and learned that her plan to use the Song court to contain Yan Yun's forces had gone bankrupt, and she couldn't help but be worried, and couldn't help but secretly scold the Song court monarchs and ministers for being useless waste!! After cleaning up his mood, he began to think about his next actions, feeling that Zhao Heng had been frightened by Yan Yun, and this time he was intimidated by Yan Yun, Song Ting had no courage, they couldn't count on it! It seems that it can only rely on Tubo, if it can be said that Tubo can send troops, although it cannot defeat Yan Yun, it should be able to fight an undefeated situation!

Thinking of this, my heart couldn't help but fly to Tibet. stood up, walked outside the study, looked at the sky in the distance in a daze, and couldn't help muttering: "I don't know how the situation is in Tubo?" Has Li Wenchang already said that he has moved Tibet? As soon as she thought of this, she couldn't help but become anxious, she was a resourceful person, and naturally knew that her anxious emotions were unacceptable, but she couldn't control it.

A few days passed in Li Qingxia's anxious mood. On this morning, when Li Qingxia was handling official business in the imperial study, a female officer hurriedly rushed in and reported: "Your Majesty, someone has returned from Tibet!" Li Qingxia was overjoyed, "Hurry up and call him in!" ”

The female guard immediately raised her voice and said, "Xuan Li Yun has come to see you!" Immediately, such a shout spread all the way from the imperial study to the outside of the palace, and immediately after, a very haggard and embarrassed young man rushed into the palace and ran all the way towards the imperial study. Not long after, Li Yun ran into the imperial study, saw Li Qingxia, fell to his knees with a thud, and cried: "Your Majesty ......"

When Li Qingxia saw him like this, a bad premonition immediately surged in her heart, and she asked urgently, "What happened?" What about Li Wenchang? "Li Wenchang, who is also a close confidant of Li Qingxia, is the envoy of the Tibetan mission this time.

Li Yun's face was full of grief and indignation, "Lord Li was killed by them!" Li Qingxia was taken aback, "What did you say?" Li Yun said: "When the adults arrived in Tibet, they originally talked very well, but in the middle of the night, many Tibetan warriors suddenly broke in, and they couldn't help but say, they killed people when they saw them, and everyone else was killed, so only the villain pretended to be dead and escaped!" After escaping, the villain grabbed a horse, did not dare to stop for a while, and rushed back to report to His Majesty! ”

Li Qingxia frowned tightly, her face was pale, she was holding the bookcase with one hand and staggering, and her heart was overturned. Glancing at Li Yun, "Are you sure that it was the Tubo warrior who attacked you?" ”

Li Yun was stunned for a moment, "They are wearing the armor of a Tibetan warrior and using a scimitar, they are indeed Tibetan warriors!" Then his heart moved, revealing a puzzled look, "But, but now that I think about it, it seems that something is wrong, they, they have never said a word, and, although they are wearing the armor of the Tubo people, but, but the face seems to be not like, not like the appearance of the Tubo people that the villain has seen, it seems, it seems to be more like the Han people!" Speaking of this, I couldn't help but be surprised, and I vaguely felt something in my heart.

Li Qingxia frowned and said, "Even if the Tubo people don't form an alliance with us, there is no reason to openly kill my envoy!" Hmph, this matter is too strange, when you arrive in Tubo, it is very likely that the envoy from Yanyun has also arrived! They found that the Tibetans were negotiating with us at the same time as they were negotiating with them, and they couldn't judge what the outcome would be, so they made this trick so that the Tibetans had no choice but to act according to their intentions! It's so cunning, it's so ruthless, I still underestimate him! ”

Li Yun's mind was very confused, and he blamed himself: "The villain is really confused!" The villain should have found out about this situation a long time ago, and the villain shouldn't have run away! Li Qingxia frowned and said, "What's the use of talking about this now!" Glancing at Li Yun, seeing his very painful and embarrassed appearance, his resentment couldn't help but subside by half, and said in a harmonious voice: "Okay, don't blame yourself, you can't be wrong in doing this, go down and rest!" Li Yun responded, stood up, and staggered back.

Li Qingxia was silent for a moment, and said to the female guards beside her: "Call the generalissimo to me immediately!" The female guard answered and ran down.

Generalissimo Li Zongdao previously led an army of 300,000 to attack Yinzhou, but was defeated by an ambush and retreated to Xiazhou. This defeat greatly shook the whole country of Western Xia, and under pressure, Li Zongdao took the initiative to resign from the post of generalissimo and returned to Xingqing Mansion for retirement. After Li Qingxia returned to Xingqing Mansion from Bianliang, she secretly went to Li Zongdao's mansion and talked with Li Zongdao for a long time. Soon after, a fierce conflict broke out between the prince and the emperor, and at the critical moment, Li Zongdao helped Li Qingxia to bring the garrison and the most elite iron harrier army outside the city of Xingqing Mansion into the account, and then entered the city to quell the chaos, and then together with the two prime ministers, he fully supported Li Qingxia to ascend the throne, which can be said to be Li Qingxia's greatest contribution to the emperor's throne. After Li Qingxia ascended the throne of the emperor, she resumed Li Zongdao's position, and she did not do this to thank the heroes, but the main reason was to look at the entire Great Xia Kingdom, and the only famous general who could lead the entire army of Great Xia was Li Zongdao, although Li Cunxiao was more talented, but after all, he was too young to command the whole army and it was difficult to convince the public.

Not long after, Li Zongdao hurried to the study and met Li Qingxia. "The generalissimo doesn't have to be polite! Generalissimo, how many troops do we have at our disposal at the moment? ”

Li Zongdao thought for a while and said: "Thanks to the military household policy implemented by His Majesty, the total strength of our army has recovered to 400,000 people, but the real confrontation with the strong enemy is only 200,000, and if necessary, the civilian army can mobilize 200,000, but these civilian troops can defend the city, if you want to fight in the field, I am afraid that it will drag down the main force!" ”

Li Qingxia stood up, walked to the door of the imperial study, and looked at the distant sky with his hands behind his back, Li Zongdao stood respectfully behind Li Qingxia, guessing in his heart Li Qingxia's intention to summon him this time.

Li Qingxia turned around and looked at Li Zongdao, "If you engage in an army with Tubo, is the generalissimo sure of winning?" When Li Zongdao heard this, he was surprised, "Your Majesty, you said that you fought with Tubo?" Li Qingxia told what had just happened. Li Zongdao was surprised and angry, and couldn't help but scold: "Yan Yun is really a jackal!" Then he hugged his fists and said: "Your Majesty, our great enemy is Yan Yun, we should try to avoid fighting with Tubo, otherwise Yan Yun will take the opportunity to make trouble, and we will be embarrassed!" ”

Li Qingxia frowned and said, "I don't know this truth. But now, I'm afraid it's not like we can avoid war if we want to. Glancing at Li Zongdao, "As Tubo, they naturally understand the truth of cold lips and teeth, but in the face of weakness, there is a chance to join forces with Yan Yun to carve us up, but it is difficult for them not to be moved." Originally, the Tubo people were hesitating, but Yan Yun's surprise attack on our mission helped them make up their minds! Li Zongdao frowned and nodded, "What Your Majesty said is extremely true!" Glancing at Li Qingxia, "But, but we can't help but try, if it is not a last resort, it is better not to fight with Tubo!" ”

Li Qingxia nodded, "Naturally, I also want to send an envoy, but there is not much chance, we must be prepared to solve the problem militarily!" After a pause, he frowned and said: "Yu Qi pinned his hopes on diplomatic means that were not very likely, so it is better to find a way to solve the problem by military means!" Li Zongdao was worried, and couldn't help but sigh: "How can our Great Xia Kingdom face such a difficult situation!" Li Qingxia frowned, and said categorically: "No matter what danger we encounter, our Great Xia Kingdom will definitely be able to overcome it!" When Li Zongdao heard this, his heart, which was originally at a loss, couldn't help but settle down, and he subconsciously felt that as long as His Majesty the Emperor was there, no matter how big the danger was, he could get through it.

There was a sound of hurried footsteps at the door, and the two couldn't help but look towards the door, only to see a female guard leading a dusty herald rushing in. The female guard saluted: "Your Majesty, there is an urgent military situation at the border!" With that, he stepped aside. The herald immediately stepped forward and reported: "Your Majesty, the Tubo army suddenly appeared and is storming our army's snow-capped fortress, and the general has specially ordered me to come for help!" "There is also a large snowy mountain between Tubo and Western Xia, which is controlled by Western Xia, which is the dividing line between the two countries, and is also a barrier for Western Xia to resist the attack of Tubo.

Li Qingxia frowned slightly, Li Zongdao was taken aback, and couldn't help but say angrily: "I didn't expect them to really attack!" What a bunch of fools!! Li Qingxia looked at the herald and asked, "How many soldiers and horses have the Tubo people come?" ”

The herald said, "It is estimated that there are no less than 200,000." Li Qingxia frowned, and Li Zongdao said worriedly: "The Snow Mountain Fortress only has Li Fenglong's 30,000 soldiers and horses, how can this be resisted!" Reinforcements must be sent immediately! Li Qingxia thought about it and didn't speak, Li Zongdao looked at Li Qingxia very anxiously.

Li Qingxia walked to the map, looked at the map and thought about it, frowned, and said coldly: "Since the Tubo people are here, then don't go back!" He immediately issued an order to Li Zongdao. Li Zongdao listened to Li Qingxia's order, was shocked, and said urgently: "Your Majesty, this is too risky!" In case, in case ......" Li Qingxia was determined, and said lightly: "Until now, only by taking risks can there be vitality, otherwise there is only a dead end!" Glancing at Li Zongdao, "Generalissimo, carry out the order!" Although Li Zongdao felt inappropriate, there was no better way, sighed, promised, and ran down.

Li Qingxia turned around and walked to the desk, picked up an order arrow, walked to the herald, handed it to him, and ordered: "Go back and tell Li Fenglong that he must strictly implement the order, otherwise the military law will deal with it!" The herald took the arrow in his hand and said yes, then exited the study and hurried away.

Li Qingxia thought for a moment, and said to the female guard beside her, "Call Lord Zongyuan." The female guard answered and ran down. Soon after, a middle-aged man of medium stature and temperament followed the female guard to the imperial study. The female guard saluted and said, "Your Majesty, Lord Zongyuan is here. The middle-aged man immediately bowed and said, "Zong Yuan greets His Majesty the Emperor!" Li Qingxia glanced at him, "Don't be polite, get up and speak." Zong Yuan replied and stood up.

Li Qingxia got up, walked up to Zong Yuan, and asked, "The secret agent sent to Yanyun, is there any news coming back?" Zong Yuan bowed and said, "Back to Your Majesty, there is news that everything is normal, and there are no abnormal events." Li Qingxia relaxed slightly, paced back and forth for a while, stopped, and asked, "Has anything happened to Yanyun recently?" Zong Yuan thought for a while, "It's not a big deal, only the big flood in Shandong can be regarded as a big deal." ”

"A big flood?" Zong Yuan nodded, "Yes, there has been a big flood in Shandong recently, and it is said that the disaster is very serious, so Yanyun is raising grain and grass all over the country for disaster relief!" According to what we learned from our spies in Tianjing New Town, the scale of the official purchase of grain and grass in Tianjing New Town is very huge, and I heard that the scale of purchase in other places is also very huge. ”

Li Qingxia faintly felt that something was wrong in her heart, and asked Zong Yuandao: "Have you gone to understand the situation in Shandong?" Zong Yuan was stunned, "Do you know the situation in Shandong?" He didn't understand what Li Qingxia meant for a while. Li Qingxia frowned and said, "I don't know if this flood is real or fake." If the flood disaster is nothing, then what does Yan Yun want to do when he buys so much grain and grass? I have been ignoring one thing, only estimating that Yan Yun's grain and grass reserves are insufficient, but I didn't expect that Yan Yun could use money to buy grain from the people! ”

Zong Yuan is not a stupid person, when he heard Li Qingxia say this, he understood what Li Qingxia meant, and he was shocked, and hurriedly said: "My subordinates understand, and my subordinates will do it immediately." Then he bowed to Li Qingxia and left quickly.

Look back at Tianjing New Town.

On this day, Mu Guifei and Chai Yonghui sat together and talked as usual, and as they talked, the topic couldn't help but turn to Yang Peng. Mu Guifei asked curiously, "Why haven't you seen King Yan in the past few days?" Chai Yonghui sighed, "It's going to be a big battle, and the eldest brother is naturally very busy!" ”

Mu Guifei said that when she heard that there was going to be a big battle, she couldn't help but get nervous and asked, "Who are you going to fight with?" Chai Yonghui said: "I heard that there is going to be a war with Western Xia." "Western Xia?" Chai Yonghui nodded and said, "Big brother wants to annex the entire Western Xia!" ”

When Mu Guifei heard this, she couldn't help but be surprised, and said in a trembling voice: "Annexation of Western Xia?!" King Yan, he, he wants to destroy Western Xia? Mu Guifei couldn't help but feel scared, firstly, she was kind by nature, and she never thought of such a terrible thing as destroying the country, and secondly, since the founding of the Great Song Dynasty, she had been weak for a long time, and she never dared to think about destroying other countries.

Chai Yonghui nodded and said, "Big brother plans to gather 500,000 troops to destroy Western Xia in one fell swoop, I believe that it won't be long before Western Xia ceases to exist!" Mu Guifei couldn't help but say: "This, this is terrible!" As he said this, he seemed to see Yang Peng standing there in his heart, feeling like a little woman, looking up at him at his feet. Thinking about it, I can't help but be stupid.

Chai Yonghui sighed, "Hey, I really envy Han Bing and them, they can fight on the battlefield with their eldest brother!" Sometimes, I really feel that I am so useless that I can only stay in this palace and can't help anything! ”

Mu Guifei smiled and said, "Who said that you can't help the little sister, didn't you give birth to a lovely daughter for the eldest brother?" Chai Yonghui sighed, looking even more distressed, "It's okay if my cousin doesn't say this, but I feel even more sorry for my eldest brother when I say this!" finally got pregnant, and was full of hope to give birth to a boy to inherit the incense of the Chen family, but her stomach was not angry, and she only gave birth to a girl! I'm really useless, I can't help with big things, and I can't even compare to others to have children! ”

Mu Guifei smiled: "You, it's just that you are thinking nonsense, don't you see that King Yan likes Rui'er very much?" Even King Yan himself said: Boys and girls are good, he prefers girls. So don't think about it yourself! Chai Yonghui nodded, but his mood obviously did not improve in the slightest.

Mu Guifei couldn't help sighing and sighed with emotion: "You, you really love King Yan too much!" The so-called concern is chaos, and you are like this now! At this moment, the laughter of Zhao You and Rui'er came not far away, and the two girls couldn't help but follow the prestige, only to see Zhao You and Xiao Rui'er lying on the grass competing and crawling, and the two little guys were very cheerful. When the two girls saw this scene, they couldn't help laughing.

At the same time, Yang Peng and the others came back from the barracks and strode into the hall. Yang Peng stepped into the top and sat down, while Han Bing and other generals stood on the left side of the hall. Yang Peng ordered Wang Kai to summon Huang Guang and others, and asked Huang Guangdao: "How is the progress of grain and grass procurement in various places?" ”

Huang Guang hugged his fists and said: "The purchase of grain and grass in various places is going very smoothly, and about seventy percent of the plan has been acquired, and it is expected that all the acquisition plans will be completed in about a month!" ”

Yang Peng pondered for a moment, raised his head, and said to everyone: "I plan to use troops against Western Xia now!" The generals showed excitement, but Huang Guang hurriedly said: "King Yan, the grain and grass have not been purchased yet!" ”

Yang Peng said: "The grain and grass that have been harvested so far are enough for us to start a large-scale war!" Then Li Qingxia is not an easy opponent to deal with, if we wait another month, I am afraid that she will find out the clues, then the advantage of our surprise attack will be gone! Naturally, we are not afraid of them in Western Xia, but in that case, we will sacrifice the lives of many soldiers in vain! Huang Guang felt that what Yang Peng said was reasonable, so he didn't raise any more objections.

Yang Peng glanced at everyone and asked, "Do you have any opinions?" ”

Everyone looked at each other and shook their heads. Yang Peng looked at Jiang Li beside him, who immediately understood, stepped forward, laid out the letter paper for Yang Peng, and then sharpened the ink. Yang Peng said to everyone: "I plan to leave for Datong tomorrow." When I am not there, everything is entrusted to Han Bing's agent, and Han Bing can make a decision on the spot! The crowd agreed in unison.

At this time, Jiang Li had already sharpened the ink, and whispered: "Master, ......" Yang Peng picked up the brush, dipped it in ink, wrote a letter quickly, checked it carefully, confirmed that it was correct, and then blew dry the ink, folded it, and put it in the envelope. handed the letter to Jiang Li and instructed: "Send a messenger immediately, and send it to Yang Yanzhao at the same time!" Jiang Li took the letter, promised it, and hurried down.

Yang Peng took out an arrow, called Wang Kai, threw the arrow into Wang Kai's arms, and ordered: "Send a herald to rush to the garrison of the Sixth and Seventh Army Corps immediately with my arrow, and order them to act according to the original plan immediately, and there must be no mistakes!" Wang Kai took the arrow and hugged his fist in response, bowed down and exited the hall, turned around and rushed away.

Yang Peng said to Huang Guang: "The follow-up work of purchasing grain and grass must still be stepped up, and it will be transported to the two battlefields immediately after it is collected!" Huang Guang clenched his fists and promised. Yang Peng glanced at everyone and said, "If it's okay, just step down." Everyone agreed in unison, bowed to Yang Peng, and Yuguan retreated, only Han Bing and other Yang Peng's concubines stayed.

Han Bing glanced at it and said to Yang Peng: "Big brother, why don't I change it with Sister Yelu, after all, I am better at fighting, and Sister Yelu is more suitable for the overall situation!" Yelu Hanyu smiled: "How can this be done, you must know that you have no jokes, since the eldest brother has already decided, it is not good to change the order every day!" Han Bing said angrily: "Sister Yelu is proud!" Yelu Han Bingyan smiled.

At this moment, there was a sound of hurried footsteps outside the door, and everyone couldn't help but look towards the door, only to see Jiang Li leading a dusty officer in. Jiang Li saluted Yang Peng and said, "Master, Lord Fan Yong has sent a messenger back!" With that, he stepped aside. The officer immediately stepped forward and bowed to Yang Peng: "My subordinates meet King Yan!" Yang Peng said: "No need to be polite, how is the situation in Tibet?" ”

The officer straightened up, clenched his fists and said: "Tubo has sent 200,000 troops and is attacking the snow-capped fortress of Western Xia!" ”

Everyone was overjoyed when they heard this, and Han Bing said excitedly: "Great, in this way, it will be easier for us to destroy Western Xia!" Yang Jiumei and Yang Erya nodded thoughtfully, both looking very happy. Yelu Hanyu frowned and said, "This is not necessarily! Then Li Qingxia is not a simple character, she may have a way to deal with Tubo! Han Bing disagreed, "Sister Yelu is too exalted to that Li Qingxia, and now in such a situation, no one can get out of the predicament!" Yelu Hanyu didn't say anything, but lowered his head and thought.

Yang Peng asked the officer, "Where is Fan Yong now?" "Back to King Yan's words, Lord Fan Yong is still in Tubo now. Lord Fan Yong said that although he had already said that Tubo would send troops, it was difficult to guarantee that the situation would not change abruptly, so he should stay in Tubo and always pay attention to the development of the situation in order to take timely countermeasures! Lord Fan Yong also said that he would definitely not live up to the trust of King Yan! ”

Yang Peng couldn't help but sigh and nodded; "Good! Fan Yong did a great job! He glanced at the officer and said, "You rush back immediately, tell Fan Yong, you must pay attention to safety, if you find that the situation is wrong, you must evacuate immediately, I still have a lot of important things to hand over to him, he can't give me an accident!" The officer clenched his fists and promised, and then said: "If King Yan has no other orders, his subordinates will leave!" Yang Peng nodded, and the officer bowed to Yang Peng again, then bowed and retreated, then turned around and walked away quickly.

In the evening of the same day, Yang Peng gathered all the concubines for dinner. Early the next morning, Yang Peng took Yelu Hanyu, Yang Jiumei, Yang Erya, Xuanjia Army, and all the secret guards to leave Tianjing New Town and go to Datong Mansion. It took only five days to cross the entire Shanxi and arrive at Datong Mansion. Cao Jun, who received the news, led his generals out of the city to greet him, and then the group headed towards the camp in the city.

Yang Peng rode on a war horse, and saw a desolate scene in Datong Mansion, it was noon, there were not many pedestrians on the wide street, and most of the shops on both sides of the street were closed, he couldn't help frowning, and asked: "Why is Datong Mansion so deserted?" ”

Cao Jun sighed a little helplessly and said, "The people all think that Datong Mansion is the front line, so they are not willing to come back. Today, the population of Datong Province is less than one-fifth of what it used to be. ”

Yang Peng showed a thoughtful look. A moment later, the group came to the gate of the camp. This camp was originally the government of Datong Mansion, and now it is the camp of Cao Jun, the head of Yanmen. The group walked through the gate and into the hall. Yang Peng walked to the top and sat down, Yelu Hanyu, dressed in military uniform, stood beside Chen Xiao with his sword, and the generals stood under the hall and bowed together: "Meet King Yan!" ”

Yang Peng stretched out his right hand, "You don't have to be polite!" "King Xie Yan!" The generals straightened up and stood on either side. Yang Peng asked Cao Jundao: "Are all the armies ready?" Cao Jun hugged his fists and said: "Back to King Yan, all the armies have already been prepared, just wait for King Yan's order!" ”

Yang Peng nodded, "Very good!" Send the order down, and the army will gather outside the city early tomorrow morning and go with me! "Yes!" That night, Yang Peng and his entourage rested in the camp, Cao Jun gave up his camp, and he himself lived in the barracks.

After all, what happens next, let's see how it will be broken down next time.