Guazhou and Suzhou under the control of the Shazhou Uighurs were successively destroyed.
Li Yuanhao only captured the soldiers and horses of the Shazhou Uighurs and confiscated their cattle and sheep, but he did not plunder the people of the Shazhou Uighurs. Instead, he drove the people and forced the soldiers and horses to retreat frequently.
Then they cut off the Song Dynasty's baggage supply line, forcing all the soldiers and horses in the Uighur territory of Shazhou to retreat to Shazhou, and surrounded Shazhou with troops, refusing to advance or retreat.
This move is obviously intended to consume Shazhou's grain reserves through the mouths of the people of Shazhou.
Cao Xianshun, the leader of the Shazhou Uighurs and the governor of the Guiyi Army, did not fall into the trap. He quickly moved all the grain and grass in Shazhou to the inner city, vacated half of the outer city, and ordered his troops to guard and defend to the death, so that those who were captured
The people who were driven here lived in half of the outer city.
Zhu Neng and Yang Wenguang did not fall into the trap. After discovering Li Yuanhao's conspiracy, they decisively sealed off the military camp and were not allowed to enter or leave without orders, let alone give away food.
Xue Tian, the supervisor of the army, did not fall into the trap either.
It was just that he was soft-hearted for a moment and made a big mistake.
That is, when I was patrolling outside the military camp, I came across a scene of children being exchanged for food. I couldn't bear it, so I took out a portion of my own rations and replaced the child who was going to be reduced to rations.
After this matter was spread.
The refugees in Shazhou gathered outside the Song army camp and wanted to exchange their children for food rations.
Xue Tian realized that he had made a mistake and immediately closed the camp.
However, the refugees in Shazhou were unable to exchange for food and chose to rush to camp.
The Xixia and Huangtou Huihe soldiers who were besieging Shazhou City were all ready to move when they saw this.
In order to avoid the occurrence of internal and external attacks.
After a secret discussion, Zhu Neng and Yang Wenguang decided to suppress the movement in a bloody manner.
Xue Tian blocked Zhu Neng and Yang Wenguang's proposal.
Xue Tian believed that the imperial court's rush to aid Shazhou this time was to seek fame and to show off to other tribes, so it should not massacre the people of Shazhou and must be gentle.
After careful consideration, Xue Tian decided to use the food and grass in the military camp to set up a porridge shed outside the military camp to relieve the people of Shazhou.
This move was fiercely opposed by Zhu Neng and Yang Wenguang.
However.
Xue Tian used his power to supervise the army and forced Zhu Neng and Yang Wenguang to act on his proposal.
It is precisely because of this that the consumption of food and grass in the Song Army's military camp has changed.
When Lu Yijian saw Kou Ji and Li Di, both of them looked unhappy, and sighed: "Xue Tian also wants to protect the reputation of the court..."
Kou Ji said coldly: "Are you pretending to be fat? The master of Shazhou, Cao Xianshun, doesn't care about the people under his rule. Why should we care about the people under his rule?"
Li Yuanhao led his troops to besiege rather than attack. It is known to everyone what his purpose was.
It is uncertain when the route for transporting baggage will be restored, and it is uncertain whether reinforcements can arrive before the food and grass are exhausted.
I just rashly used the food stored in the military camp to pretend to be a good person.
This is a joke on the lives of tens of thousands of soldiers and nearly 100,000 civilians who were besieged in Shazhou."
Wang Zeng pondered and nodded: "Xue Tian is right to take into account the reputation of the court, but under such circumstances, it is really not worth risking the lives of the soldiers."
Zhao Zhen sighed, "The matter has come to this, and it is useless to say more. We have to find a way to raise food as soon as possible and then transport it there to ensure that our soldiers in the Song Dynasty will not starve to death in Shazhou."
Li Di gritted his teeth and said: "It will take some time for the autumn taxes from various places to be transported to Beijing."
Kou Ji took a step forward and said in a deep voice: "Yi Zi Jiao Zi Pu can temporarily lend some money to the court to raise military rations. After the autumn taxes from various places are delivered to Beijing, Yi Zi Jiao Zi Pu will be repaid."
Li Di was stunned for a moment, "Is this okay?"
Kou Ji nodded, "Of course..."
Li Di nodded and said: "This is the best... I will go out and contact the grain merchants to raise military rations."
After Li Di said this, he started to walk out.
He had just walked a few steps when he heard Lu Yijian sighing behind him: "Mr. Li, the officials are in the court today, and you have been relieved of your position as a subordinate of Zhongshu. It's not appropriate for you to go out and run around again now."
Li Di paused on his feet and was stunned for a long time. A trace of bitterness appeared on his face, and he sighed: "I have been worrying about state affairs, but I forgot about this."
Li Di said in a slightly depressed tone: "That's all...I'll go back home right away. I still have you to worry about the matters in the Western Region."
Zhao Zhen stood up, and together with Kou Ji, Wang Zeng and Lu Yijian, they all bowed and saw Li Di off from Zishi Hall.
After Li Di left, the four of them sighed together.
Wang Zeng took the initiative to ask for help and said: "Leave the matter of raising military rations to me."
Zhao Zhen nodded, wrote a letter, and handed it to Wang Zeng.
The document clarified the matter of borrowing money from Yizijiaozipu.
Wang Zeng only needs to take the documents to Yizijiaozipu, and Cao Yi will cooperate with Wang Zeng to complete the relevant loan matters.
Wang Zeng left not long ago.
The eunuch who went to invite Gao Zhonggong hurriedly returned to the palace. After seeing Zhao Zhen, he hurriedly reported.
"The official, the High Privy Envoy said that he is seriously ill and will have to rest at his residence for a few days, and will not be able to enter the palace to meet the official."
"Bang!"
After Zhao Zhen heard this, he stood up and slapped the table with an angry look on his face.
Zhao Zhen, Kou Ji and Lu Yijian all knew what Gao Chugong meant by his words.
Gao Chugong was obviously dissatisfied with the imperial court's reduction of his empty post.
If the imperial court wants to invite him to go out and lead troops on an expedition, it must return to him what has been taken away from him and give him generous gifts.
Otherwise, he would not have been able to lead the army.
Even if he was forced by Zhao Zhen to lead his troops to the Western Regions, he would still be able to work without any effort.
This incident was not a rare occurrence in the Song Dynasty.
Both Taizu and Taizong did this.
Whenever there is a war, before going out for an expedition, the generals will always be given large sums of money, or beauties, etc., to show their favor.
Of course, the emperors of other dynasties also used generals in the same way.
However, only the Song Dynasty had the habit of openly asking for favors from the court.
This is also one of the sequelae of Taizu drinking wine to release his military power.
Taizu used a glass of wine to release his military power and successfully wrested the power from the generals.
In order to appease, win over, and make up for the generals, he also successfully turned the master-servant relationship between the two into an employment relationship.
One gives benefit.
One effort.
That's all.
Zhao Zhen gritted his teeth and said, "If I return the reduced duties to him now and reward him with a large amount of money, then everything Li Aiqing has done before will be in vain."
Lu Yijian frowned and said, "Is it possible that we can only ask Cao Wei to take action?"
Neither Zhao Zhen nor Lu Yijian wanted to see the situation that Li Di had just started be destroyed in one fell swoop.
Kou Ji didn't want to either.
Not only did he not want to see the situation that Li Di had just opened be ruined, but he also didn't want to see Cao Wei be forced into a dead end because of his superior skills.
Kou Ji pondered for a long time and sighed: "Let me go there..."
When Zhao Zhen and Lu Yijian heard this, they both looked at Kou Ji.
Kou Ji sighed and said: "Send the Minister of War, Li Zhaoliang, to lead the army, and I will supervise the army."
Zhao Zhen's first reaction was to refuse.
Lu Yijian frowned and said, "I'm afraid that Li Zhaoliang will be like Gao Chugong, claiming to be ill and unable to recover."
Kou Ji said solemnly: "I'll go and convince Li Zhaoliang."
Zhao Zhen gritted his teeth and said: "Kou Aiqing, you are not proficient in martial arts, let alone the art of war. The situation in the Western Regions is now chaotic. If you go to the Western Regions, you may be in danger for your life... I would rather return Gao Chuanggong's empty post to him, and I don't want you to go."
Adventure in the West."
Since Kou Ji took the initiative to stop this matter, it means that he has thought about it again and again and will not back down just because his life is in danger.
Kou Ji solemnly said: "The officials don't have to worry. When I go to the Western Regions, I'm just supervising the army, not leading troops to fight. With the army led by Li Zhaoliang protecting me, who can hurt my life?"
Lu Yi briefly opened his mouth.
Kou Ji took the lead and said: "Although it is difficult for Li Zhaoliang to entrust him with important tasks, he can barely use it with me watching. Neither you nor I want to see the situation that Li Gong just opened be ruined."
Lu Yijian hesitated for a moment and nodded slowly.
Zhao Zhen opened his mouth several times to refuse, but in the end he still did not speak.
Now that things have come to this, everything must be done with the overall situation in mind. We cannot be benevolent as a woman, let alone act on our own initiative.
Kou Ji cupped his hands and said, "Then I will go and persuade Li Zhaoliang first..."
Zhao Zhen nodded heavily, "I will give you the Emperor's Sword, and you will have full authority to decide on matters in the Western Region."
Kou Ji handed over his hand again, "Thank you for your kindness."
Immediately.
Kou Ji left Chui Gong Hall, got on the carriage, and ran all the way to Li Mansion.
After seeing Kou Ji, the disciples of the Li Mansion hurried into the mansion to report.
Li Zhaoliang soon appeared outside the house.
Li Zhaoliang looked at Kou Ji with a complicated expression, "Has the war in the northwest changed?"
Kou Ji nodded slowly.
The general's sense of war is far more acute than others.
When they rushed eight hundred miles straight to the palace, the generals had already guessed that the war in the northwest had changed.
This is also the reason why Gao Chugong had already chosen to pretend to be ill before the news spread out of the palace.
Li Zhaoliang sighed, "I heard that the palace sent people to Gao's mansion, but Gao Chugong did not leave the mansion."
Kou Ji nodded again.
Li Zhaoliang continued to sigh: "The officials were unwilling to agree to Gao Chugong's conditions, so you came to me?"
Kou Ji continued to nod.
Li Zhaoliang frowned and said seriously: "I may not be able to control the situation in the Western Region."
Kou Ji finally spoke, "And me!"
Li Zhaoliang was stunned for a moment, then smiled bitterly and said: "If I lead the troops to go on an expedition at this time, I will be cast aside by the other companies."
Kou Ji said calmly: "You owe me your life. This is an argument that is enough to convince other companies."
Li Zhaoliang smiled bitterly, "It's indeed a good statement."
Kou Ji continued: "It will take three to five days for the imperial court to raise food and grass. After three to five days, we will rush to the Western Regions together."
Li Zhaoliang nodded helplessly.
Kou Ji cupped his hands and asked someone to drive the carriage away from the door of Li's residence.
The conversation between the two was very brief.
Kou Ji did not try hard to persuade Li Zhaoliang.
But Li Zhaoliang was willing to risk being cast aside by other families and agreed to accompany Kou Ji to the Western Regions.
There is no other reason.
Li Zhaoliang owed Kou Ji his life.
Li Zhaoliang has to pay it back.
After Kou Ji convinced Li Zhaoliang, he sent someone to deliver a message to the palace.
Then he took the carriage back to the courtyard outside the city.
As soon as he arrived at the door of the other courtyard, he saw Xiang Yan, supported by the maid, standing at the door waiting for him.
Kou Ji hurriedly jumped out of the carriage and stepped forward to meet him.
"You're pregnant...it's windy outside, what are you doing out here?"
Kou Ji took Xiang Yan from the maid's hand and helped Xiang Yan back to the other courtyard.
Xiang Yan held her belly in her hands and said, "I heard from the servants at my house that there is a rush of eight hundred miles coming from the west. I'm worried that something unexpected might happen, so I'm waiting for you at the gate of my house."
Kou Ji smiled faintly, said nothing, and helped Xiang Yan to walk into the other courtyard.
Seeing that Kou Ji looked wrong, Xiang Yan muttered: "Did something really happen?"
Kou Ji hesitated for a moment and nodded, "The situation in the Western Region is not good..."
Xiang Yan was stunned for a moment, frowned and said, "What happened?"
Kou Ji helped Xiang Yan back to the room and told Xiang Yan in detail what happened in the Western Regions.
After hearing this, Xiang Yan frowned and said, "It's so serious...how does the court plan to deal with it?"
After saying this, without waiting for Kou Ji to speak, Xiang Yan said again: "Li Gonggang reduced the empty duties of those martial artists. It is not easy to ask those martial artists to take action.
Are you worried about this matter?"
Kou Ji shook his head and said frankly: "The imperial court has decided to send Li Zhaoliang as the general and me as the supervisor to rush to the Western Regions."
Xiang Yan's delicate body was shaken, and her face became very ugly.
Kou Ji took her hand and comforted her in a low voice: "Don't worry, the imperial court has sent two forbidden troops to the Western Regions this time. As a supervisor, I will be guarded by them without any danger."
Xiang Yan gritted her teeth and said, "I'm about to give birth...can't the officials be considerate of me and you?"
Kou Ji sighed, "National affairs are important..."
Xiang Yan shed tears for a moment.
Kou Ji slowly held her in his arms.
"It's a pity...I couldn't be with you when our child was born..."
Xiang Yan didn't say anything, she just lay in Kou Ji's arms and cried.
Kou Ji comforted Xiang Yan for a long time.
It wasn't until night, after coaxing Xiang Yan to sleep, that she left the bedroom.
As soon as he came out of the bedroom, he saw Kou Zhong standing cautiously outside.
After Kou Zhong saw Kou Ji, he bowed and said, "Young Master, please come over."
Kou Ji said with some surprise: "Grandpa has returned home?"
Kou Zhong said solemnly: "I heard that you were going to the Western Regions, so I came down from the mountain in the evening. I happened to bump into the eunuch who came from the palace to deliver the imperial edict, and he helped you receive the imperial edict."
Kou Ji nodded and followed Kou Zhong to the main hall.
In the main hall.
Kou Zhun was sipping tea. After seeing Kou Ji entering the main hall, he put down his tea cup and frowned: "You want to go to the Western Regions?"
After Kou Ji saluted, he nodded, "The situation in the Western Region is very chaotic. I need to go take a look."
Kou Zhun said solemnly: "As an official of the imperial court, it is natural to put state affairs first. But you have to come back intact. If you are a good person, no one will die for me."
Kou Ji cupped his hands and said, "My grandson, I obey."
Kou Zhun stood up and said again: "After you go to the Western Regions, you don't want to be kind to women."
Kou Ji was stunned.
Kou Zhun said nothing more and walked out of the main hall.
Kou Ji thought for a long time in the main hall, but couldn't figure out the meaning of Kou Zhun's last words.