The night was as cool as water. Li Zhang stood at the bow of the boat and looked at the river view in the distance. This was the Grand Canal that communicated between the north and south of the Song Dynasty. This canal was like a major artery, closely connecting the north and south of the Song Dynasty. Even at night, some river sections were still full of ships.

This place is not far from the capital. Li Zhang didn't know what was wrong tonight, so he couldn't sleep. Finally, he just put on his clothes and came to the deck to enjoy the night view of the canal. However, at this time, he couldn't help but think of the situation in the Liao Kingdom.

As for Yelu Zongzhen, Li Zhang wanted to beat him up from the first sight of him, because this guy looked arrogant and seemed to be no one in the world. However, since Gubeikou was defeated, this guy's arrogance must have been smashed to pieces. Li Zhang thought the other party would be honest for several years, but he did not expect Yelu Zongzhen to make a fool of himself again and chose to send troops to the west at this time.

Although Li Zhang didn't like Yelu Zongzhen very much, he also knew that this guy was actually a very smart person. For example, Yelu Zongzhen was proficient in music, loved Confucianism, and even wrote poetry. It is said that his level is quite good.

However, as the saying goes, personality determines destiny. Yelu Zongzhen's personality has huge flaws, which is also the main reason for his miserable defeat in Gubeikou. However, this time Yelu Zongzhen still did not learn from the lesson and sent troops before the domestic political situation was not stable. This really surprised everyone. But it is normal to think about it. After all, nature is difficult to change. For an adult like Yelu Zongzhen, who has already formed a personality, it is too difficult to change himself.

"Li Yuanhao's army was in full swing, but the Liao Kingdom was seriously injured. When they fight now, it's like God is helping the Song Dynasty!" Thinking of these above, Li Zhang couldn't help but whisper to himself, if both Liao Kingdom and Dangxiang could be injured this time, it would be even better.

However, Li Zhang was not very optimistic about the Liao Kingdom's troops. Although Yelu Renxian was the one who led the troops and heard that he had recruited a lot of troops, his opponent was Li Yuanhao. Although Li Yuanhao was a disabled person, since he was injured, Li Yuanhao seemed to be more cunning and cruel than in history. Moreover, he had been in the Northwest Guidance Department for several years, and his troops under him expanded rapidly.

In contrast, Yelu Renxian was working hard to fight for the expedition, and the Liao Dynasty had not been stabilized, so whether the logistics could keep up is a big problem. If Li Zhang was Li Yuanhao, he would definitely not fight head-on with Yelu Renxian, but would mainly drag it down. Just like the Song army was fighting against the Liao army in Gubeikou, as long as it was delayed for a period of time, if Yelu Renxian did not retreat, he would have to repeat the mistakes of Gubeikou's defeat.

"Although Yelu Renxian is a famous minister of a generation, it is unlikely that he can do anything big when he encounters an emperor like Yelu Zongzhen!" Finally, Li Zhang sneered and said to himself again.

Thinking of the Western Expedition of the Liao Kingdom, Li Zhang thought of another news sent with this news. This news was related to Goryeo. Previously, Li Zhang suggested sending someone to contact Goryeo and taking advantage of the conflict between Goryeo and Liao Kingdom to achieve the goal of restraining Liao Kingdom. Now this plan has been implemented smoothly.

The unlucky guy Li Zhi was sent as an envoy to Goryeo. This guy is a very smart man. Even Li Zhang was deceived by him at the beginning, and his mission to Goryeo did not disappoint.

It's a coincidence that Wang Qin, the ninth monarch of Goryeo, has always been very tough towards the Liao Kingdom. Since he was in power, he has wanted to regain the territory on the east bank of the Yalu River. For this reason, he has had a very stalemate with the Liao Kingdom. Goryeo even built a thousand-mile Great Wall as a defense line to resist the invasion of the Liao Kingdom.

However, Wang Qin was a short-lived ghost. He ascended the throne at the age of fifteen, but died at the age of eighteen. When he died, the Liao Kingdom was defeated in Gubeikou. At that time, Goryeo was in chaos and could not seize the opportunity to regain his hometown.

When Li Zhi was sent to Goryeo, Wang Qin's younger brother Wang Heng inherited the throne and became the tenth monarch of Goryeo. Wang Heng was only sixteen years old this year. After seeing Li Zhi, he was soon attracted by Li Zhi's talent and even wanted to become Li Zhi as his teacher. However, Li Zhi did not dare to agree without permission as an envoy, but became close friends with the other party and had close communication in daily life.

Wang Heng had just taken charge of Goryeo and needed political achievements to prove himself. In addition, he was young and energetic. Seeing that the Liao Kingdom has declined to such a point, there were various conditions promised by the Song Dynasty, which made Wang Heng very moved. So after convinced the ministers around him, he finally made a decision, that is, to send troops to recover Baozhou and other places on the east side of the Yalu River.

However, although Wang Heng decided to send troops, it has not been decided when to send troops. Moreover, there is a lot of debate within Goryeo about this matter. Even if Wang Heng is the monarch, it is impossible not to ignore the opinions of the ministers.

But unexpectedly, Yelu Zongzhen suddenly sent troops to expedition the west this time, which was also a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Goryeo, so Li Zhi also vigorously encouraged Wang Heng. After discussing with the ministers, Wang Heng finally resisted the opposition and decided to send troops while the Liao Dynasty was expeditioning the west. Now the whole country of Goryeo is also under intense preparations. Just when the Liao Dynasty and Dangxiang fight, they immediately sent troops to attack Baozhou.

Of course, the matter of Goryeo's preparation for sending troops is still top secret. In addition to Goryeo's upper class, only Li Zhi learned about this through Wang Heng, and then secretly sent it to the Song Dynasty. After Zhao Zhen learned about this, he also sent it to Li Zhang along with the news from the Liao Kingdom.

"Calculate the time, Yelu Renxian's army in the western expedition should also go to the northwest to recruit the ranks. If they fight, Gao Li will send troops immediately, and then the eastern part of the Liao Kingdom will be in chaos!" Li Zhang said proudly again.

However, when he said this, Li Zhang suddenly frowned again and then spoke again: "It is certainly a good thing to use Goryeo to harass the Liao Kingdom, but if the Liao Kingdom is really in chaos and Goryeo takes the opportunity to seize a large amount of land, its strength will definitely increase greatly by then. They must not be allowed to repeat the threat Goguryeo to the Central Plains!"

In the end, Li Zhang considered the issue of restraining Goryeo. However, the distance between the Song Dynasty and Goryeo was too far away and the country was not bound by the territory. However, it was quite close to Goryeo from the sea. In this way, as long as the Song Dynasty had a strong navy, he would not be afraid of any threat to Goryeo.

"After all, it's about rectifying the navy. It seems that it is imperative to divide the navy into two and build a professional navy!" Li Zhang finally said to himself again.

The cousin of the Northern Song Dynasty
Chapter completed!