This made Zhao Kai and Li Qi look shocked, and an ominous premonition arose spontaneously, because from the beginning, the Song army in Tubo had smooth sailing, as if they were in an uninhabited land. According to this trend, there should be no urgency.
Report, unless Wu Jie has already unified Tubo, but unless the Song army can fly, it cannot be so fast.
Moreover, the two urgent reports arrived almost at the same time, so Wu Jie must have been blocked.
Sure enough, after reading it, Zhao Kai frowned and said, "The Uighurs have sent gold."
"ah?"
Li Qi was stunned for a moment and thought to himself, Oh no! I took a step slower. I frowned and asked, "How could the Jin army be so powerful that they surrendered the Uighurs so quickly?" According to what he learned, the military strength of the Gaochang Uighurs was not weak, and it was very powerful.
Strong, otherwise it would not have been possible to fight Xixia back and forth, and once they had the upper hand, the Jin army would not have been able to surrender the Gaochang Uighurs so quickly.
Zhao Kai shook his head and said: "The two countries are not at war. The Uighurs have surrendered to the Jin Kingdom. Moreover, the war in the western battlefield may have already started." As he said this, he handed the two letters to Li Qi.
Li Qi quickly took it and started reading it. The further he looked down, the more solemn his expression became. After reading it, he was silent for a long time.
Zhao Kai also pondered for a long time before saying: "If the Jin army is allowed to occupy Shule, then our trade with the Western Regions will be interrupted again."
Li Qidao: "Not only that, the Kingdom of Jin is also vast and rich in resources, and has a lot of trade relations with the Song Dynasty. He can definitely take over our business in the Western Regions. In addition, Xixia and Tubo will be restrained by the Kingdom of Jin."
.”
Zhao Kai nodded and said: "So Shule must not be captured by the Jin Kingdom, but the problem is that this Yelu Dashi is the only seedling of the Khitan royal family outside. The Jin Kingdom has been arresting him, even us, on the surface.
The most we can do is to provide some help secretly. If we send troops to rescue, it will be tantamount to breaking up with the Jin State. Then the Jin State can justifiably continue to attack the Song Dynasty. But if we do not provide assistance,
If the Yelu Dashi is there, I’m afraid it will be difficult for them to resist the Jin army. What should we do?”
Li Qi snorted and cursed angrily: "This Yelu Dashi is not a good bird. He has nowhere to go, so he came to Shule. In fact, given his current situation, he should secretly accumulate strength and slowly develop himself."
Shule is a strategic and economic important place. When he came here, he should have thought of provoking a war. In fact, he had long expected this day, but he still occupied Shule. His purpose was very obvious.
Just to increase the bargaining chip with us. He knows that we will not let Shule fall into the hands of the Jin people, so he uses Shule to tie us tightly to him. This guy is really hateful."
If there was no Shule, Wu Jie's plan could be completed first. If Wu Jie took Shule before the Jin army arrived, then based on the Yunsang Covenant, the Jin army could only regret that it had short legs. It was Yelu Dashi.
This small move actually led the Jin army to seize Shule.
Zhao Kai narrowed his eyes, and murderous intent suddenly appeared. Then he said in a calm tone: "Yelü Dashi is really ambitious, but the problem is that now he has occupied Shule, and the Jin army is about to arrive. What should we do?
what to do?"
Li Qidao: "Shule is not our territory, and Yelu Dashi is a remnant of the Khitan. We have no reason to send troops to assist him. If we send troops, then we will play into Yelu Dashi's hands. His purpose is to directly provoke conflict between us and the Jin Kingdom.
Direct confrontation, then he can take the opportunity to borrow our power to develop his own power."
Zhao Kai frowned and said: "But if we don't help, our losses will be even more serious. Let's not talk about the distance. Our silver income comes from Japan on the one hand, and from the Western Regions on the other. If the market in the Western Regions is missing, then
Let alone three years, I’m afraid we won’t be able to use silver as currency in ten years.”
Li Qi frowned and said, "Then what does the emperor mean?"
Zhao Kai frowned and said: "I don't know the details, but we must not let the Jin army occupy Shule. If there is really no other way, we can only go to war with the Jin country."
Li Qidao: "If we fight now, we are not prepared at all, but the Jin Kingdom is well prepared. They were originally preparing to go south. This is a taboo for military strategists."
Zhao Kai asked: "But do you have a better way?"
"Let me think about it again."
Li Qi rubbed his face and began to think deeply.
Zhao Kai also calmed down and thought about the current situation.
Yelu Dashi has undoubtedly created a dilemma for them, and they will face huge difficulties whether they send troops or not.
After about a cup of tea, Li Qi suddenly picked up the letter and read it again.
Zhao Kai looked at Li Qi curiously and said, "Did you think of something?"
Li Qi said nothing, staring at the letter.
After Zhao Kai saw him, he didn't dare to disturb him.
After a while, Li Qi suddenly laughed.
Zhao Kai felt happy and hurriedly asked: "Have you thought of a countermeasure?"
Li Qi nodded and said, "As the saying goes, there is no room for two tigers on a mountain, but what if there are three tigers on a mountain?"
Zhao Kai took a deep breath, seemed to have thought of something, and said, "What do you mean?"
Li Qidao: "Wu Jie wrote in the letter that if we attack Shule first, it will be difficult to capture Shule before the Jin army arrives. Then once the Jin army arrives, it is likely that we will reap the benefits.
Then why don't we think about it the other way around, if we look at it from Wanyan Zongwang's perspective, he will also have this concern if our army gathers at the border of Shule. If they attack Shule first, we can also wait until they both lose.
, and then reap the benefits.”
Zhao Kai's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he said: "That's right, we don't need to send out any soldiers at all, we just need to create a scene where the snipe and the clam are fighting, and the fisherman will benefit. The Jin army will not dare to act rashly, and we are just here
Stationing troops in the Hehuang area, and even going to Shule City to station troops, did not destroy the Song-Jin alliance. This place is not the Jin country, and it can also resolve the crisis in Shule. Haha, this is a wonderful idea."
Li Qi smiled and said: "Your Majesty is right, why should we gather our troops in Yuechang City? Now Yelu Dashi is asking for something from us. To put it harshly, he is plotting against us. Why don't we plot against him and take advantage of the opportunity?
Marching to the west to expand our territory, we can extend to the border of Shule. As long as we don't step into the territory of Shule, there is nothing he can do against us, and he can definitely guess our intentions, so he can only
Stand still and swallow this boring loss."
"I think Yelu Dashi will definitely go crazy with anger."
"Who asked him to trick us first? Moreover, in any case, his goal was achieved. At least we helped him frighten the Jin army and let him breathe a sigh of relief. His strategic goal was still achieved.
Owning the city of Shule, his wealth has increased sharply, so that he has enough capital to develop his own power. We just need a little hard work."
Zhao Kai hummed and said, "But Wanyan Zongwang traveled a long distance to come here. With his character, he would never be willing to return empty-handed. What do you think he will do next?"
Li Qi shook his head and said: "I don't know about that either. The situation in the West is complicated. If Yelu Dashi throws rat shit into it at this moment, it will definitely cause an uproar, and the Jin Army is famous for being a troublemaker. The two of them collided, haha
, I think the West will not be peaceful, no matter what. The battlefield in the west has actually started, and it is time for us to shift our attention from Tubo to the Western Regions."
"You are right. It is difficult for the Suppression of the West Army alone to achieve much in the Western Region. Now that the crisis in the north has been temporarily alleviated, we should increase the number of troops in Hehuang." Zhao Kai thought for a while and said: "Why don't Yue Fei take the lead?
Are the family troops going to help Wu Jie?"
Li Qi immediately shook his head and said: "Everyone can go, except Yue Fei."
Zhao Kaicuo asked in astonishment: "Why is this?"
Li Qi sighed and said: "Nowadays, the military is undergoing a renewal process, and among the newcomers, Yue Fei, Wu Jie, Niu Gao, and Han Shizhong are the most popular. Among them, Wu Jie and Yue Fei are famous for a while. In fact, at the beginning of Nan
During the war, the two of them had the greatest merit, and competition had already emerged, especially Wu Jie. He came from a poor family and slowly climbed up the ranks as an ordinary soldier. His honors were all due to his sacrifice on the battlefield.
exchanged for.
Although Yue Fei also came from a peasant family, to be honest, I favored Yue Fei very much and promoted him repeatedly. Wu Jie thought he was no worse than Yue Fei. He always felt that Yue Fei was my confidant, and I always favored Yue Fei in everything.
He wants to prove that he is stronger than Yue Fei, and Yue Fei certainly knows that. He also wants to prove that he did not rely on me to climb up. If the emperor asks Yue Fei to go, then who should listen to whom? The battlefield in the west is changing rapidly. If there are internal disagreements, it may
It will delay the fighter plane, and in that case, the gain will outweigh the loss."
"It turns out there are so many stories here!" Zhao Kai said and asked curiously: "Since you know it in your heart, why don't you stop this situation from continuing to develop."
"How can Wei Chen stop him? Should we demote Yue Fei to a soldier?" Li Qi smiled and said: "Wu Jie, although Yue Fei is a military genius, Wu Jie has big flaws in his character. You can't let him stop."
Down, once he stops, his shortcomings will be exposed. He must always spur him. Yue Fei is the whip. If he wants to prove that he is stronger than Yue Fei, he must work harder, but Yue Fei's ability is not weaker than him, and he is relatively strong.
In comparison, Yue Fei is much calmer. In fact, this sense of competition can be said to be created deliberately by me."
When it comes to the way of governing people, Zhao Kai is naturally better than Li Qi, because Li Qi and Qin Hui are his subordinates. If he cannot control them, how can he sit safely on the throne? Wu Jie and Yue Fei are also warriors no matter what.
, regarding this political struggle, let alone Li Qi and Qin Hui, Bai Qiannuo could play them around, so of course he understood the reason why Li Qi did this, and said: "In this case, Han Shizhong can't be sent either.
Now, Wu Jie has been in the west and knows the local situation very well. For now, he is the most suitable candidate for our Song Dynasty to be the commander-in-chief of the west."
Having said this, he pondered for a moment and said: "Yue Fei is now the son-in-law of the Zhejia Army, so it is difficult to mobilize the Zhejia Army, and the Zhejia Army has to watch Taiyuan, so the only army closest to the Hehuang area is left.
The Zhong Family Army is here, so be it, I will write a letter to Master Zhong to explain the situation, and he will arrange for the Zhong Family Army to go to assist Wu Jie. As for the order, it will be up to your Privy Council to issue the order."
Zhong Shidao is currently the eldest person in the Zhong Family Army, and no one within the Zhong Family Army dares to listen to his words.
Li Qi nodded and said: "Recently, the Western Military Region has also been upgrading and has recruited a lot of new soldiers. It's no secret that the Western Army is arrogant. If those old fritters are sent there, I'm afraid there will be conflicts with the Western Suppression Army.
Why don't we just let Zhong Xi lead the new soldiers so that they can get some experience?"
"Just do as you say."
Zhao Kai said and said to Li Qi: "By the way, if I let you go, can you suppress Wu Jie now?"
Li Qi snorted: "Wu Jie, even if I lend him ten courages, he wouldn't dare? I brought him out too. I'm not as easy to talk to as I was in Zui Xianju in the army. I will not deal with anyone who disobeys orders."
Everyone has the same attitude, I don't care who the other person is or how important it is."
This nickname of Guijianchou is not unearned. Although Li Qi is not very good at fighting, after the Kaifeng defense battle, Yanyun battle, and later the southern expedition, his reputation in the army is very high, let alone
Wu Jie was stunned, even Zhe Ke did not dare to jump in front of Li Qi, which angered crazy Li Qi. God knows what he would do.
But when he said this, he suddenly looked stunned and said: "The emperor wants to send me?"
Zhao Kai said: "You are definitely going. The Dongnu Kingdom has not surrendered yet, but now is not the time. There are many things that need you in the country, but you must be prepared at any time. You yourself also said that the West
The battlefield is changing rapidly. After all, Wu Jie is just a general. It is difficult to think carefully when encountering problems. If you were here, you would not have sent these two urgent letters."
There is no separation between civil and military affairs, and war is just a continuation of politics. Wu Jie can only think about how to win, but Li Qi knows how to choose. In the long run, choosing is better than winning.
Li Qi nodded and said, "Yes, Wei Chen will be ready."
"I'm going to have to work hard on you again."
Zhao Kai sighed and said: "Oh, one more thing, the situation in the west has fallen into chaos, which will definitely affect our trade. Fortunately, new currency has been issued. As you said, in view of the lack of currency, domestic
The economy is already facing collapse, and it relies entirely on trade. Once trade is interrupted and currency is not issued in time, the consequences will be unimaginable, but now we are also facing this difficulty."
Li Qi smiled and said: "Has your Majesty forgotten that our sea route to the Western Regions has been opened? If we can't go by land, we can just go by sea. We can also take the opportunity to revitalize Nanhai Prefecture in Jiaozhi County and set up a large-scale trade settlement there.
and the next economic summit will be held there. Once maritime trade develops, the imperial court will not need any help. Jiaozhi and Dali counties will recover immediately. When the local people have money, they will naturally remember us.
The Song Dynasty was so good that he proudly declared that he was a Song citizen, thus interfering with the imperial court's management of the two counties."
ps: The first chapter of the new year is like the first time, so embarrassing! Let’s get back to the topic, I wish everyone a happy new year, all the best, and abundant financial resources. (To be continued...)