The lay disciple named Ding Yu entered the nunnery, followed by Yongqing, who closed the door behind him.
Ding Yu seemed to know that she didn't call him in to ask her to put away the tea. As soon as he entered the room, he turned around and looked at her with a slight smile on his face: "Has your highness agreed to my plan?"
Yongqing nodded slightly: "Not bad!"
Ding Yu said happily: "Okay, then I will go and make arrangements for His Highness right away."
"Wait a minute!"
Yongqing called her and said: "Not only my brother and I are leaving, but my mother and queen are also leaving together."
Ding Yu was startled and said: "The Queen? I'm afraid...it's not that easy to bring the Queen out from the deep palace."
Yongqing said: "What if my queen mother comes to this Chongxiao Temple?"
Ding Yu muttered: "In that case, it will naturally be easier than in the palace, but... even though the Queen is not in charge of the Sixth Palace now, the current Queen, who is the mother of the world, will definitely be in a grand position once she leaves the palace, and even if we can
They robbed the empress, even out of Bianliang City, and headed to Hexi. The mountains were high and the road was far away. It was not easy to escape from the hands of the officers and soldiers. If Shi Ji quietly took the princess and Prince Defang away, he only needed to snatch a day or two of
As time goes by, the chances of success will increase."
Speaking of this, Ding Yu said seriously to Yongqing: "Although my lord has proclaimed himself emperor, he was forced to do so. In fact, he has never forgotten the grace of the late emperor and the care and love given to him by his empress and princess. My lord arranged
We are lurking in the capital to rescue the princess and Prince Defang at all costs in order to repay the late emperor and his highness for their care and love.
Today's Holy Emperor is narrow-minded and jealous. The former prince Chai, the deposed emperor Meng of Shu, the deposed emperor Li of the Southern Tang Dynasty, and even Dezhao, the brother of the late emperor and the princess, all died strangely, and there seems to be something behind them.
The suspicious behavior of the current emperor. Now that the second prince is growing up, I am afraid that the emperor's jealousy will arise again. Sooner or later, he will still attack him. It is already difficult to save a prince and leave. If he wants the queen to accompany him again,
That is simply impossible. For safety reasons, please let the princess give up this idea. Today's Holy Emperor cherishes feathers and does not tolerate people's irresponsible remarks. He will not blatantly disadvantage Empress Song who poses no threat to him...
"
Yongqing interrupted her and said flatly: "If the queen mother cannot leave, Yongqing and his brother Defang will not leave either! If Miss Ding cannot do this, then there will be nothing to talk about between you and me.
Now, you can leave."
"Princess……"
Yongqing turned around and left, but Ding Yu quickly called her, lowered her head and thought for a moment, then lightly said: "The princess is really hard to make people angry, so I promise you that, but there will be a lot of bloodshed along the way.
The original plan must be completely overturned. It is a very important matter, and the princess will allow us to think about it carefully and make detailed preparations."
Yongqing turned around and softened his expression and said: "That's natural. I want to bring the empress and the emperor's brother together in Chongxiao Temple without arousing suspicion. I need to make a lot of preparations first. You can take care of it yourself."
Let’s discuss it and come up with a perfect solution.”
Ding Yu smiled bitterly and said, "Is this a foolproof plan? Well, I just have to do my best." After saying that, he bowed his hand to Yongqing and hurried out.
Ding Yu is a lay disciple who has recently converted to the Three Jewels and has not yet kept the precepts. It is said that she is a widowed woman who originally opened a wine shop on East Cross Street to make a living. Who knows that she is coveted by a captain in the Forbidden Army?
Because of her beauty, she often came to harass her, and not long after, the Taiwei's family came to fight with her again. How could she, an ordinary woman and a Taoist family, stand up to that official family? She had to end the business in a hurry, and came to become a monk in desperation.
Practice.
This is just what she said publicly. As for her true identity, it is not enough for outsiders to know. At least Princess Yongqing knew that she was by no means an ordinary civilian woman, but someone sent by Yang Hao from Hexi to lurk in the capital. But she was
Yongqing will never reveal his identity to anyone.
Watching Ding Yu go out, Yongqing sighed softly and walked slowly to the inner room. On the incense table in the inner room, under the statue of Guanyin enshrined, was the spiritual tablet of Emperor Taizu of the Song Dynasty, Zhao Kuangyin. Yongqing picked up the incense.
Light the candle, gently extinguish the incense, put the incense in the incense burner, and silently bow in front of the soul.
Behind her, Ni Lin'er, a confidant who was waiting for her to eat and drink, quietly walked in. Lin'er stood behind her and saluted the statue of Guanyin and Taizu's spiritual throne. After the ceremony, he stood up and whispered to Yong Qing:
"Princess, did you...promise them?"
Yongqing slowly turned around and said in a low tone: "I have seen through it. After the death of our father, our family has to be at the mercy of others. Today's official treatment of us is just for the world to see.
, in fact, he is just using us to achieve his role of deceiving the world. Whether it is Gao Yuanwai or Ding Yu, the forces behind them are all using us for their own interests. Hum, they can use us, why should I?
Can’t we use them?”
Lin'er said in surprise: "Use them?"
Yongqing smiled coldly, slowly clenched his pink fists, and said with some excitement: "Yes, as I have been in office for a long time, the role of our family has gradually become less and less. My brother Defang has grown up.
, when he grows up, he has become a thorn in the side of the current saint. I am worried that...he will be harmed by that traitor sooner or later. As a sister, I should always make good plans for him. In these things where I think I can **
*In the eyes of those who control the fate of my family, I, Yongqing, will always be the little princess who has nothing to do. But... I will grow up too, right?"
In a side hall of the last courtyard of Chongxiao Temple, a nun was fetching water from the well. The water sprinkled on the well platform was frozen. If you were not careful, you would fall down. If you were unlucky, you would fall.
If you fall into a well and no one sees you, you will lose your life. A monk with a higher rank will not do such strenuous work himself.
This female nun had just arrived, and she was mute. She came to the nunnery to place orders, but she couldn't even speak and could only gesture. She originally knew that the visiting monks wanted to drive her away, but the abbot Dingru Shitai looked at her.
Poor, out of kindness, he kept her here. The people living in this side hall were old women and beggars who lived on the streets without food and clothing during the cold winter. The hostess took them in and designated them to live in this side hall.
They were not allowed to walk around at will. Several nuns were assigned to take care of them, and this mute female nun was one of them.
He brought up a bucket of water, took off the hook, and was about to carefully walk down the stone steps with the bucket in both hands. The mute nun suddenly stopped. Behind her, a nun stood quietly. It was here.
The owner of the nunnery is Dingru Master, Princess Yongqing, the biological daughter of Zhao Kuangyin, Emperor Taizu of the Song Dynasty.
There was no one else around. Yongqing stared at the mute nun and suddenly asked: "Is your injury...already healed?"
The mute nun nodded lightly. In the severe winter, when her hands are exposed to the biting cold wind, they will turn red in a short time, especially when they are touched by water. However, her hands are an exception.
Yongqing's eyes fell on her hands. Her hands did not match her delicate face. Those hands were two sizes larger than those of ordinary women. The skin was a little rough, but the skin color of the hands had not changed at all.
, the place that had been touched by the water was steaming, as if the hands were a pair of hearths filled with burning coals.
Yongqing nodded with satisfaction and said softly: "Then, just stay here patiently. Things are already starting to look better."
The mute nun's natural peach blossom eyes immediately became radiant, so sharp that people dared not look at them: "When and where?"
The mute nun was able to speak, but her deliberately lowered voice was rough and hoarse, a bit like a man's voice.
Yongqing said: "Maybe a month, maybe half a year, I can't tell you the specific time or place yet, it's right here at Chongxiao Temple!"
The mute nun's eyes flickered and her pupils shrank like needlepoints. She nodded gently and said nothing more. She just picked up the bucket with both hands. She seemed to have spent a lot of effort and timidly moved down the well platform one step at a time.
go……
When Pan Mei handed over the memorial to the officials, she expected that she would be severely punished. She had packed her package and prepared to be sent to Lingnan for the rest of her life. She didn't want the official decree to come down, so she gave Wang Jien a scolding and exempted him from the supervision of the army.
After receiving his post, he was sent back to Hebei to concentrate on raising food and fodder for Guo Jin at Yanmen Pass and the army stationed in Linfu.
Not only did he not punish him as the commander-in-chief of the three armies who had lost his troops and returned in great defeat, but he fully affirmed the correctness of his decisive retreat. In addition to commending him, he ordered him to stabilize his position, regroup, fight several great victories, and return the favor to the Xia army.
Color. Pan Mei was greatly surprised by the official's reaction. Soon she learned that Cao Bin had spoken up for him. Pan Mei was grateful and determined to fight a few good battles to avenge the black snake ridge with one stone. At the same time,
There is also an explanation for Kuan Hong from the official family and Privy Cao.
Song Qi, the new supervisor, is also a confidant of the official family. She treats Wang Jien and Pan Mei with a bit of contempt. After all, she is an eunuch, but Song Qi is an upright second-ranked Jinshi, and she is still a hidden official in the official family.
Pan Mei did not dare to neglect a person who had been put into important use when he was in the imperial palace. Fortunately, although this person did not understand military affairs, he never interfered with military matters. Pan Mei was completely left to Pan Mei to do the dispatching of troops and generals.
The newly arrived Dingguo Jiedu Commander Song Xie is also a veteran general who has experienced hundreds of battles. Although his military skills are not as good as his Pan Mei, he is not easy to deal with. Although his military rank and status are not inferior to him, he is somewhat difficult to command.
, but the main purpose of Song Zhe's visit was to control the Ninghua Army, Jinning Army and other six border armies. It is better to have him under unified control of the six border armies than the six border armies acting independently.
Under such circumstances, Pan Mei also achieved some results. He took back several fortresses on the east line of Hengshan that were occupied by Xia General Musi, Bian Yilang, Han Jian, Li Conglong and others. However, he continued
After entering Hengshan, the battle was no longer so smooth. On Hengshan, taking advantage of the dangerous terrain, a large number of fortresses and tunnels were built when the Song and Xia armies faced off. The Xia army retreated, and the Song army fought again when they guarded Hengshan.
This summer, the military took back Hengshan and renovated these strong fortresses and beacon tunnels three times. These places have become rock solid.
Coupled with the heavy snowfall in the winter, which made it difficult to move, it was even more difficult to launch an attack. The Song Army repeatedly launched fierce attacks. However, after losing 80,000 troops, the mobile forces of the two states of Linfu were very limited. Although Pan Mei personally led
The army continued to launch large-scale battles, but the results were still minimal, and their pace still stopped at the foot of Hengshan Mountain. In view of this, Pan Mei joined the supervisor Song Qi and the deputy commander Song Xie after careful discussion and decided to temporarily stop the large-scale offensive.
Good opportunity.
At present, Zhao Guangyi is secretly jealous because of the private alliance between the veterans of the previous dynasty. The intensifying rebellion in Xichuan has seriously hindered him. Zhao Guangyi feels a headache from the bottom of his heart about the Hengshan War. He feels that it is useless to fight or not to fight.
However, Yang Hao was originally a minister of the Song Dynasty, but he stood up for himself. This had touched the bottom line of the Song Dynasty court, and was a behavior that Zhao Guangyi could not tolerate under any circumstances.
Even if he is unable to continue marching westward now, he still has to do this beating. Whether he can fight is one thing, but whether he has this attitude is another. As a confidant of Zhao Guangyi, Song Qi has no idea about his mentality.
He understood very well, but in the cold winter season when water was dripping and turned into ice, it was really not appropriate to continue the offensive, so he also agreed to suspend the offensive.
While secretly reporting the detailed analysis to the imperial court after discussing with Pan Mei and Song Xie, Song Qi used a wonderful pen to write a public report to the imperial court, which described in an extremely exaggerated manner how the Song army turned defeat into victory and captured
The success of several forts on the east line of Hengshan and driving the Xia army back to Hengshan can be regarded as a whitewash for the failure of the official army to use troops in the northwest.
The imperial court printed Song Qi's memorial in the imperial newspaper and circulated it to the world, making it known to everyone. However, at the same time, Yang Jiye launched many counterattacks and relied on the advantage of the land to severely defeat the Song army. However, the imperial court selectively ignored it.
Under the guidance of this selective attack, the negative impact of the defeat at Black Snake Ridge gradually disappeared. In the eyes of the common people, the imperial court still had the strength to fight through Hengshan, but it was only because of the cold weather that it temporarily suspended its troops.
, not only ordinary people, but also many middle and low-level local officials also have this optimistic attitude.
At the same time, the Liao State's move to send troops directly in front of the Song and Xia camps also made the Song court very sensitive. Zhao Guangyi personally summoned the Liao State envoy to question the Liao State's intention to send troops to the northwest when the Song and Xia were at war. The Liao State envoy had already
After receiving the order to go to Beijing, he immediately responded: Song and Xia were at war with each other, and as their close neighbors, Liao had the right to station troops at the border to protect the security of its territory and citizens, and to keep a close eye on the progress of both warring parties.
How could this indifferent answer be satisfactory? The envoys of the two countries had several quarrels over this, but they were wary of each other, so they both restrained themselves and did not escalate to a more serious foreign affairs dispute. In this case
, the Song and Xia countries temporarily maintained a military confrontation, and the Song and Liao countries temporarily maintained a stalemate in foreign affairs. The severe situation in Hexi therefore entered a period of delicate balance.
However, this delicate balance was soon broken. If an accident had not occurred at Fengtai Pass at the junction of the Three Kingdoms, Zhao Guangyi would have adopted an ostrich mentality at this time and temporarily ignored the stalemate in Hexi and calmed down to resolve it first.
The rebellion problem in Xichuan became more and more fierce. At the same time, he continued to vigorously promote young generals and centrist generals internally, and used relatively peaceful methods to gradually weaken the control of the former veterans over the army. However, the occurrence of this accident caused a chaos in front of Zhao Guangyi.
The dawn drew his sight back to the northwest again.
The cause of the matter is very simple. There are three mountains facing each other in Fengtai Mountain. There is a valley in the middle. There is also a river passing through the valley, dividing the valley into two. This big river has the Xia Kingdom to the west of the river, the Liao Kingdom and the Song Kingdom to the east of the river. The Song Dynasty
The Liao Dynasty used the mountain peak occupied by the Song Dynasty as the dividing line between the two countries. The division of the borders between the three countries only followed the three areas of Dingnan Jiedushi, Fuzhou Zheshi and Liao.
At that time, the two countries mostly used these well-marked mountains, rivers and other natural objects as markers, and there were no boundary markers.
After being stationed, the soldiers of the Liao Kingdom had nothing to do. They patrolled and hunted outside the village every day. Once, they chased a yellow sheep and crossed the frozen Zhuolang River into the territory of the Xia Kingdom. Such occasional cross-border situations were very common.
, out of deeper considerations, few people would regard this as offensive. Those Liao soldiers were ready to return to the camp after catching the yellow sheep. Unexpectedly, the patrolling soldiers of Xia State solemnly handed over their weapons and confiscated them.
That yellow sheep then deported them and drove them back to Hedong.
This has stirred up a hornet's nest. The people of Liao have never suffered such a big loss. With their arrogant temperament, if it weren't for the fact that their own team and the Emperor of Xia had attacked Yinzhou together, they would have had a close relationship with each other.
, they have been looking for trouble for a long time and bullied the Xia people. Now, how dare Xia Jun take the initiative to provoke them?
Xia army guard Lai Duofu and his men ran to the Xia army camp and yelled at him. Although Yang Yanxun returned the yellow sheep and the weapons he had collected, he warned the Liao people not to bully the Xia army. Duofu was not a willing person.
The master who suffered a loss got his things back and turned around and left. But when the soldiers of the Xia army went to the Zhuolang River to shave ice and get water that afternoon, he rushed up with a hundred soldiers and kicked and punched him, saying that the source of the Zhuolang River was
Within the territory of the Liao Kingdom, the west of Hexi is the land of Xia. The territory east of this river and connected to this river is the territory of the Liao Kingdom. Those Xia soldiers were beaten until their noses were bruised and their faces were swollen. In the end, they were tied back and stripped to death in the cold winter weather.
He was tied naked to the fence of the camp and whipped in public.
Yang Yanxun once personally asked Yang Hao what to do if the Liao people provoked him. At that time, Yang Hao told him eight characters: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. At that time, Yang Hao thought that although Yang Yanxun was young, he was thoughtful and thoughtful.
It's not that Yang Yanxun has long-term thinking. In fact, he is a general of the Han Dynasty. Every time the Han Dynasty went to war with the Song Dynasty, he would ask for help from the father of the Liao Dynasty. Every time the Liao people sent troops, they bullied the male hegemon.
Women do all kinds of evil. Apart from not killing anyone, they actually cause more harm than the soldiers of the Song Dynasty.
As a general of the Han Kingdom, Yang Yanxun felt the pain of this firsthand, so when he saw the Liao people arriving, and during the period between Song and Xia, the Liao people seemed to be on his side when sending troops, he asked Yang Hao what he should do when facing the Liao people.
Some attitude. After getting Yang Hao's answer, he felt confident in his heart. Now his people were kidnapped, stripped naked, whipped and tortured. As a general, if he just swallowed his anger and calmed down, how could he still lead the troops? At this moment,
So he led his troops to rob the people. Although they were able to rob the people back, a small-scale armed fight broke out between the two sides, and several people were killed on each side. Now things became a big deal.
Duofu sent his confidants to quickly report the story of the Xia army's arrogant and unreasonable provocations to Brother Yelvxiu, the king of the Beiyuan who was stationed in Datong Prefecture, and asked the king to make a decision. Yang Yanxun also immediately wrote down the cause and effect in detail and ordered people to report it to the emperor as soon as possible.
Yang Hao. Yue Yang, the Fengtai garrison of the Song Army, was originally afraid that the combined forces of Liao and Xia would be disadvantageous to him. When he saw the conflict between the two sides, he couldn't help but be overjoyed. Although he couldn't send troops to interfere with the incident, he had people stand on the camp and shout loudly to give him a warning.
The soldiers on both sides of Liao and Xia fanned the flames, but it was just a matter of words. Under their conscious instigation, the conflict between the two sides became more and more intense. Yue Yang was very proud and reported the matter to Pan Mei and the supervisor Song Qi.
.
Song Qi didn't know how to use troops, but he was good at official administration. How well did people who were good at official administration know about human affairs? He immediately discovered the problem: If these things could cause such a big conflict between Liao and Xia, it would be more than just lower-level soldiers.
There was a dispute between them. From this incident, it can be seen that there was absolutely no secret alliance between the Liao and Xia armies. The Liao army had no goodwill towards the Song army, and it also had little goodwill towards the Xia army. Similarly, the Xia army seemed to have no goodwill towards the arrival of the Liao army.
It is not welcome, otherwise even if a few more people die, for the sake of the overall situation, the generals of both sides will maintain restraint and will not condone their subordinates to fight with each other. Song Qi noticed this and immediately reported the matter to Zhao Guangyi.
Brother Yelu Xiu of Datong has been paying close attention to the progress of the war between Song and Xia. When he left for Beijing, Empress Dowager Xiao gave him instructions and asked him to act according to the situation and try to maintain a balanced situation in Hexi. If Song and Xia could use Hengshan as the boundary
, Song can't eat Xia, and Xia can't drive away Song, that's the best ending.
Yelv Xiuge was a versatile general in both civil and military affairs. He was not just a brave and capable general. He immediately understood Empress Dowager Xiao's instructions. The Song State occupied Lin Mansion and took a step forward, posing a threat to the Xia State at any time. Only then did the Xia State surrender to the Liao State and use the help of
The power of the Liao State checks and balances the Song State, so that the Liao State can gradually exert influence on the Xia State until it controls the Xia State, just like the Liu family's regime in the Han Dynasty, it became a pawn for the Liao State to contain the Song State.
Supporting the Xia State and allowing it to gain a foothold on the front line of Hengshan will attract the Song army to fight with it for a long time. The Song State will deploy more and more troops in Hexi and consume countless grains, rice and military pay every year. Even just one Xia State
If it cannot bring down the Song Dynasty, it will also drag down the Song Dynasty's soldiers to exhaustion and embarrassment. At that time, not to mention that the Song Dynasty will not be able to conquer Youyan in the north. In the long run, it will inevitably rely on the face of the Liao Kingdom. This so-called extermination of wolves and tigers is a lose-lose strategy.
.
Unexpectedly, the Song army was eager to fight quickly and advanced rashly. As a result, due to the extended battle line and the cold winter, the Xia army was forced to clear the fields and cut off its food routes. The Song army was defeated and returned, and the strength of the western army was severely damaged. During this period,
Relying on Hengshan, Li Yang Jiye continued to launch counterattacks against the Song army in Linfu and two states. The Song army had insufficient soldiers and did not occupy the right land and people, resulting in more defeats than victory. Brother Yelu Xiu knew this very well.
In line with the idea of stepping on whoever is strong and pulling up whoever is weak, so that they can always fight equally, Brother Yelvxiu is about to create some trouble and put pressure on Xia Guo. As soon as the news of Duofu is sent, then
Someone gave him a pillow when he was dozing off. Brother Yelvxiu was overjoyed and immediately asked the soldier to send a message to Duofu: "The Xia people will hand over the murderer of my son. Otherwise, we will seize his camp and drive him away."
Guards!"
When Zhao Guangyi received Song Qi's information, he couldn't help but feel very happy. Frankly speaking, he, the richest man in the world, could afford to lose the loss of 80,000 troops. Not to mention other places, Yanmen Pass is now heavily stationed with troops.
Well, it's just that the Liao people sent more troops to Datong with bad intentions, so he didn't dare to mobilize them without permission. If there was a fight between the Liao people and the Xia people, then... When he thought of this, Zhao Guangyi immediately gave Song Qi a secret order, asking him to marry him
He went to Fengtai and tried every means to expand the conflict between the Liao and Xia armies for his own benefit.
When Zhao Guangyi's eight-hundred-mile expedition horse galloped out of Beijing, Yang Hao, who was in Xiazhou, called Mu Yu to his side and secretly gave him instructions: "Xiaoyu, when you go to Fengtai, you must be careful, as you must provoke a formal fight with the Liao people.
In war, we have to control the extent of the flames of war. Everything must be done according to what I just told you. Don't be emotional..."
Just as Yang Hao said this, Tuoba Haofeng rushed in angrily and shouted: "Your Majesty, something bad happened. Lai Duofu, the defender of the Liao army in Fengtai Mountain, brazenly sent troops to attack our camp. Fengtai camp fell. Yang Yanxun has retreated to the second camp."
Taishan.”
When Tuoba Haofeng said these words, Yang Hao must have been shocked and angry. Unexpectedly, after listening to his words, both Yang Hao and Mu Yu showed strange looks on their faces. The two looked at each other and then
There is the following weird dialogue:
"Your Majesty, sir... do you still need to go?"
"...Go and ask Yang Jiye to add more soldiers to help Yang Yanxun take back Fengtai Village."
"Yes, that minister has gone!"
Yang Hao hummed and murmured to himself: "Brother Yixiu, my best friend..."