Li Qi's silence made Duan Shiwen feel very uneasy. If Li Qi was not satisfied, then their previous efforts would have been in vain. He quickly said: "I know there are indeed a few people here, but please don't worry, Privy Council."
, once our king raises his arms, the number of people will immediately double. The Privy Council may not know that among the thirty-seven tribes in Dali, there are many tribal leaders who are very supportive of our king, but they are currently afraid of leaks.
, so our king did not send an invitation to them, but once it begins, they will definitely come to seek refuge with our king."
Sweat! I just thought about it, do you need to be so nervous? Li Qi smiled and said: "Envoy Duan misunderstood, you have done a good enough job, but we did not give you enough support, and I am very grateful for this."
We apologize, and we are very satisfied with your recent efforts."
It turned out that I was overly worried. Duan Shiwen breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Thank you, Privy Councilor, for your understanding."
Li Qi asked again: "Then what does your king plan to do next?"
Duan Shiwen frowned, looking a little embarrassed, and sighed: "Privy Councilor, our king is very considerate of your country, but I am afraid that this matter cannot be delayed any longer, or things will change sooner or later. If we continue to stand still, the newly formed army will probably
People's hearts are shattered, and in the past few years, the thirty-seven tribes have rebelled once. Although they have been suppressed now, the relationship between the Gao family and them is still very tense. Coupled with the internal strife of the Gao family in recent years, our king
Think of this as an opportunity.”
The internal strife of the Gao family he was talking about was the dispute over the position of the Gao family. Since the post-Dali period, this position has been hereditary, and the Duan family is just a puppet, which means that this position is the throne, which will of course lead to competition.
After the death of Gao Taiming, the third Chinese Duke of Dali, his younger brother Gao Taiyun usurped the position of prime minister. However, a few years ago, Gao Taiming's son Gao Mingshun regained the position and is now the prime minister of Dali.
Although Gao Mingshun regained his position, he has been doing his best to stabilize his position, and his policy is internal but not external. Therefore, the overt and covert fighting among factions within the Gao family has never stopped.
Li Qi nodded and said: "What you said makes sense. This matter must be carried out as soon as possible, but your king is still in the palace. Is there any way to escape?"
"Please rest assured, Privy Councilor, we have made countless arrangements. I have no choice but to nod your country, and our king can escape at any time."
As he spoke, Duan Shiwen took out a map from his sleeve, which was the map of their country of Dali. He spread it flat on the coffee table and said: "Our king's first step is to seize our Jianchang Mansion northwest of Dali. This Jianchang Mansion
It happens to be on the border with your country, and it is also a land rich in food in Dali. If we can seize this place as our base camp, we will get twice the result with half the effort."
Li Qi took a look. He saw that Jianchang Mansion couldn't help but border with the Song Dynasty, and also bordered with Tubo. Coincidentally, the Tubo regime bordered with Jianchang Mansion. When Tong Guan sent troops to the Hehuang area last time, it had already belonged to Datong.
Song, he thought for a long time before nodding and saying: "You have a good idea. The location of Jianchang Mansion is so critical, and it must be heavily guarded. Are you sure?"
Duan Shiwen said: "The tribes near Jianchang Mansion are all facing our king. However, the Gao family has also arranged heavy troops to guard the borders with Tubo and your country."
Having said this, he looked at Li Qi again.
Li Qidao: "You want us to send troops directly?"
Duan Shiwen nodded.
Li Qi shook his head and said: "About this point, I have already said that the troops are out of nowhere. If we send troops directly, it will definitely cause a head-on conflict between us and your Dali, which will affect the image of our Song Dynasty in the hearts of our allies.
At least in this initial stage, I think it is impossible for the emperor to agree."
Duan Shiwen's heart suddenly dropped when he heard that. These little soldiers and generals, plus a few tribesmen, wanted to confront Dali's regular army. It would be really difficult. But if they don't capture Jianchang Mansion, they have to capture the same
Shicheng County borders the Song Dynasty, but Shicheng County is too close to the capital of Dali, and it is also close to Jiaozhi. The geographical location is more important, so it is not a wise move.
Li Qi looked at Duan Shiwen's sad face and said, "Although we in the Song Dynasty cannot send troops directly, we can give you support secretly."
When Duan Shiwen heard this, he looked at Li Qi with hopeful eyes.
Li Qi smiled and said: "We can secretly use Tibetan troops to drag Jianchang Mansion's troops to the border, and then give you the most advanced weapons. It is not a fantasy to capture Jianchang Mansion, but you must be quick.
, catch them by surprise, as long as you can seize Jianchang Mansion, our weapons will continue to pour in."
When Duan Shiwen heard this, he was overjoyed and said: "This is very good, very good!"
Li Qi smiled and said, "By the way, how is the relationship between Gao and Jiaozhi now?"
Duan Shiwen was stunned for a moment, then sighed and said: "Their relationship has always been very good, and they have become allies secretly. In fact, the reason why they did this is to compete with your country."
You don't need to provoke this, I know it very well. Li Qi nodded slightly and said nothing.
Duan Shiwen didn't know what Li Qi was thinking, and he tried again: "If we succeed by then, the Gao family will probably ask Jiaozhi for help."
"So you must be prepared for this!"
"Then---what about your country?"
Li Qi did not reply directly, but said: "Don't worry, we have made up our minds to support you, and naturally we will not allow all the money to be wasted. You just need to understand one thing, that is, your king is in power, and for us
For the Song Dynasty, its importance is self-evident."
This sentence made Duan Shiwen completely relieved and nodded repeatedly.
Li Qi added: "As for the second batch of aid, I have almost prepared it. I have even prepared the food. I plan to let the merchants deliver it to you, but I will send it in several batches. You must
Be careful, if this food is robbed by others, then we will not have any extra food." In fact, Li Qi also concealed something, that is, the most elite imperial army of the Song Dynasty was already on standby in Jiangnan.
Duan Shiwen said happily: "Please rest assured, Privy Councilor, we have already made arrangements for this."
Having an internal response is really different. Li Qi smiled and nodded.
Duan Shiwen and Li Qi have been talking about it until dawn, and have finalized some details. The time is set for March next year. It is said that every year in this month, Emperor Duan will leave the palace and enter the temple to pray for this year's spring plowing.
He only stayed for a month, and he had nothing to do anyway. Duan Zhengyan planned to take this opportunity to escape from the Gao family's control.
As for how Duan Zhengyan escaped, Li Qi really couldn't help but, having said that, if you can't even do this, then what else do you have to be worthy of my trust.
Time is very tight!
After everything was discussed, Duan Shiwen quickly ordered Kuai Ma to return to Dali and told Duan Zhengyan that everything should be carried out according to the original plan. Li Qi also wrote a letter to Yue Fei, asking them to mobilize food to prepare to support Duan Zhengyan. At the same time, Zhao
Kai also issued an imperial edict and ordered the Zhe family army to take charge of Tibetan matters.
After Duan Shiwen finished the discussion between Li Qi and Zhao Kai and received a more definite answer, he quickly got up and returned to his country.
However, on the third day after Duan Shiwen left, news came from the west that shocked the world.
At the end of November, Xixia officially declared its independence.
Since Li Qi had already arranged for people to wait for news in Xixia, once Xixia made any move, Tokyo must be notified as quickly as possible, so the news could reach it so quickly.
It turned out that after Richard returned to China, he immediately reported the Song court's intentions to their king. The Xixia people unanimously believed that this was a good opportunity for independence, because after this battle between Song and Jin, they were all severely weakened.
It was difficult to recover in a short period of time. Although Xixia also sent troops, they only had an encounter with the Song army. There was no damage and their strength was intact.
Not only that, the Jin Kingdom now has to deal with the two troubles of Goryeo and Yelv Dashi. It can be said that it has too much time to take care of itself. If it does not become independent at this time, it will be even more difficult for the Jin Kingdom to become independent once it calms down. In addition, the Jin Kingdom has repeatedly sent
People came to ask for guilt, but they did not fulfill the original covenant and held all the strategic locations of Xixia in their hands. This made the Xixia court feel that the Jin Kingdom had no good intentions towards them. Instead of being so suspicious of each other, it was better to give this layer of window paper to them.
Broken.
Moreover, being independent and being recognized by the Song Dynasty is what Xixia has always hoped for, because in the past, the Song Dynasty always wanted to annex Xixia and take back this horse farm. As a result, Xixia could only choose the policy of having both sides. Now the Song court has
A very obvious hint has been given, and the King of Xixia feels that there is no reason to prevent Xixia from becoming independent.
So on the one hand, the King of Xixia secretly contacted Yelu Dashi, and on the other hand, he sent people to Yunzhou to negotiate, hoping that the Jin Kingdom could fulfill its original promise and return the land to Xixia.
When Wanyan Zonghan, who was in Yunzhou, heard this, he was so angry that he almost killed the envoy. When the Song army came to Yunzhou, if you had given some strength, how could I have let the Song army divide part of Yunzhou?
I have shown great restraint by not going to settle accounts with you now. You actually have the nerve to ask me for land.
After Wanyan Zonghan cursed angrily, he kicked the Xixia envoy out of Yunzhou.
The Xixia people had long expected this, so after the Xixia envoys returned home, Xixia immediately used this as an excuse to criticize the Jin Kingdom for being dishonest and failing to fulfill their original commitments. Therefore, the original oaths between the two countries could not be counted and they declared independence. The king of Xixia
Be crowned, take off that hypocritical mask, and become a true emperor.
When the news reached the Song court, all the ministers in the court were shocked, except for two people, namely Li Qi and Zhao Kai. This was really great news for him. If there was another incident in Goryeo,
If successful, the Kingdom of Jin will undoubtedly be isolated, which is really bad for the Kingdom of Jin, which was founded not long ago. (To be continued...)