October 17th.

The sky was overcast, and the heavy clouds seemed to be crushing the undulating mountains ahead.

Yinzhou in early winter is much colder than Tokyo, and the soldiers have already put on thick clothes.

"Report! The outside of Weirong Village has been completely surrounded by Xixia people."

"Report! Xixia's military strength is at least 80,000!"

"Report! The Xixia people have not launched an attack on Weirong Village for the time being."

"..."

Pieces of intelligence from the front were placed in front of Liu Qi.

On the Yanyan Road, the staff of the Commander-in-Chief, the soldiers, and the generals were sitting on both sides.

"The Xixia people are very courageous! They sent out so many soldiers and horses to fight a big battle with us!" Liu Xi took the lead and said, "Liu Shuai, please give me 30,000 troops to defeat the Western bandits!"

"

Wang Fu of the General Staff Army said: "Liu Shuai, now is not the time to be impulsive. The overall situation is at stake."

"What's wrong with the overall situation? The Western thieves have already arrived at the door!" Liu Xi said excitedly, "Are we going to sit back and watch Weirong Village surrender to others? There are still 50,000 soldiers and civilians there, and Weirong Village was built by them hand in hand.

of!"

"That was not what I meant."

"Then what do you mean?" Generals like Liu Xi disliked people like Wang Fu who came from civil service. In his opinion, if those people from the Military Department stayed in the Tokyo Martial Arts Hall for a while and escaped, they would be able to

Holding important positions in the military is nonsense!

Not to mention that this person was taught by Qu Duan.

Liu Qi took the words and said: "Last month, the General Production Department came with an order. If the Western bandits invade the border, defense should be the priority and negotiation should be the priority."

"How long will Weirong Village have enough food?"

Wang Fu said: "Enough for three months."

"Liu Xi!"

"The end will be here."

"You command 10,000 front troops to support Weirong Village. Wang Fu will serve as the general auxiliary of the front army."

Wang Fu said: "Liu Shuai, are you really going to fight?"

"No, let's talk first!" Liu Qi said, "But we can talk after we go to war!"

Some time ago, after meeting the Xixia envoy, Liu Qi was already ready.

Liu Xi immediately led an army of 10,000 troops and quickly rushed towards Weirong Village.

At noon on the 19th, King Li Renli of Shu was having lunch. The scouts outside suddenly came to report: "Report! The reinforcements of the Song Army have arrived!"

Li Renli said: "How many people are here?"

"No...not sure. The place where the Song army camped was very hidden, but there were many flags and the march was divided into many routes."

"Let Ye Cirong go to the Song camp again to negotiate with the Song people."

"yes!"

In the afternoon, Liu Xi was taking a nap when Ye Cirong came.

Wang Fu, who had just read the scout intelligence, also received the news and rushed to Liu Xi's military camp.

"General, we meet again."

"It's you, a Western thief again, how dare you come to my place?"

"General, now the two armies are at war. If you could have released our people, what happened today would not have happened!"

"Bullshit! You are making excuses!"

Ye Cirong said: "Now that the 300,000 troops of our Baigao Daxia Kingdom have arrived, I wonder if you are willing to hand over your people?"

"There are no such people at all. You are provoking trouble to start a war!" Liu Xi was ready to rebel on the spot, "Someone, drag this person out and chop him..."

"Wait a minute!" Wang Fu shouted quickly, "The two armies are fighting and will not be killed."

Ye Cirong broke out in a cold sweat. He forced a smile and said: "If you don't make friends, the peace between the two countries will be gone."

"Envoy, the Song and Xia countries are engaged in trade. If the war breaks out, trade will be shut down. Please think carefully."

"It's not about trade now, it's about our people being detained by you. If you don't release them, how can we explain to the officers and soldiers of the three armies?"

"Does the envoy think that a war between the two countries will be beneficial to your Xia country?"

"Please don't change the subject."

Wang Fu continued: "We can launch a large-scale war in Yinzhou, and continue to mobilize troops from Shaanxi to continue the fight, but don't forget that there is a Jin Kingdom to the north. Once your Xia Kingdom's strength is damaged, Jin will

The iron hoof of the country will crush you immediately!"

"In that case, Shaanxi cannot be saved!" Ye Cirong said.

"We, the Song Dynasty, are rich all over the world and can conquer hundreds of millions of warriors. Shaanxi's temporary gains and losses are nothing, but you are facing the end of your country and your species!"

"Haha, even if you say that the sky is falling, we will not withdraw our troops!"

Wang Fu said: "Envoy, please take my exact words back to your commander. I hope he will think twice before acting. The Song Dynasty and your Xia Kingdom are friendly countries."

After Ye Cirong left, Liu Xi said angrily: "Why don't you kill him?"

"Liu Tongzhi calmed down. Killing him was of no use, but he revealed some information."

"oh?"

Wang Fu said: "I asked him if the two countries fought, their strength would be greatly reduced, and the Jin army went south to crush Xixia. He said that the Song Dynasty would not be able to survive."

"What does this mean?"

"It shows that the Xixia people know the stakes."

"What does that mean?"

"The Xixia people have sent out so many troops. First, they don't attack Weirong Village, and second, they don't send troops to attack us. Instead, they send an envoy. Why?"

Liu Xi looked confused: "Why?"

"Because the Xixia people are testing our attitude, and they are not sure what we think! Once we hesitate, they must know that we have concerns, and then they will send envoys again, saying that as long as we return Yinzhou, they will withdraw their troops."

"Why is this?"

"Because they just want to take Yinzhou back. They don't want to really go to war with us. Didn't the envoy just reveal it? They know that once the two countries go to war, only the Kingdom of Jin will benefit."

Liu Xi finally understood: "You mean, as long as we return Yinzhou, they will withdraw their troops?"

"Yes, this is a military mobilization against Yinzhou. The Xixia people want to defeat others without fighting when we march eastward." Wang Fu said.

"Then we have to fight even more!" Liu Xi said, "We can't let the Xixia people know that we have concerns."

Wang Fu smiled bitterly: "We do have concerns. Once the war starts, there is no guarantee when it will end."

Liu Xi thought about it carefully, and then said: "I understand what you mean. Both of us have concerns, but if we really take action, both sides can only continue to expand the war, and the situation will be uncontrollably in favor of the Jin Dynasty."

What is the direction of the country’s development?”

"Yes, there is a class in the Martial Arts Hall called Deterrence Balance, which talks about this principle. All parties have the idea of ​​sending troops, but all parties have concerns about not being willing to send troops, so as to achieve a situation of sending troops but not engaging in war, and maintaining

A state of balance of silent threats, I heard that the theory was written by officials themselves."

Liu Xi sighed and said: "It would be great if the imperial court did not march eastwards, so that the Jingzhao Mansion would have no worries, and Liu Shuai would naturally have no worries, let alone us."
Chapter completed!