Guo Song received news from Dantu and Meng Jinguan almost at the same time. Both news came via emergency flying pigeons.
Just as Zhang Qianyi returned from an inspection tour in Yanzhou and was reporting to Guo Song on the situation of salt mining, Wen Miao came in and placed two urgent pigeon letters on Guo Song's desk.
Guo Song waved his hand and signaled Zhang Qianyi to wait for a moment. He opened the two pigeon letters and read them carefully. Zhu Si was frightened by the iron fire thunder and crossed the river halfway before retreating to the north bank of the Yangtze River. This was as he expected.
, but whether Zhu Si is willing to give up his plan to attack Jiangnan depends on the situation at Mengjinguan.
Guo Song opened the pigeon letter sent by Li Bing again. The letter stated that Mengjing Pass had been captured. In the letter, he briefly described Pei Xin and Yang Xuanying's disobedience to military orders and suggested that they be demoted to one level.
Zhang Qianyi saw Guo Song's brows growing and tightening, so he smiled and asked, "Your Highness has encountered a problem?"
"I can't talk about the problems. Take a look at these two pigeon letters." He handed the pigeon letters to Zhang Qianyi.
Zhang Qianyi took the pigeon letter, read it hastily, and said with a smile: "Now Zhu Si must withdraw his troops from Jianghuai!"
Guo Song walked a few steps with his hands behind his back. He sighed slightly and said: "I am actually a little conflicted about Zhu Si's attack on Jiangnan. Sometimes I also hope that Zhu Si will go to Jiangnan and give it a try, but I don't.
I couldn't bear to suffer a military disaster in such a wealthy place, and Han Huang asked for help, but I couldn't just sit back and ignore it, so I was always a little conflicted in my heart."
Zhang Qianyi was Guo Song's earliest aide. Guo Song trusted him very much. He also understood Guo Song. He knew that his lord's heart was actually very generous, and he understood Guo Song's thoughts and concerns.
Zhang Qianyi smiled slightly and said: "In this case, Your Highness should analyze the pros and cons, especially the damage done to Jiangnan by Zhu Si after he seized it. Also, the people in Jiangnan knew that Your Highness could stop Zhu Si, but His Highness stood idly by and watched.
I am afraid that the dissatisfaction with His Highness will exceed that of Zhu Si. Can His Highness clearly see the adverse effects caused by this?"
Guo Song pondered for a moment, nodded and said: "You are right, not doing something when you know it is right is unjust. I can't think too much about political interests, but should pay more attention to the interests of ordinary people."
Zhang Fengyi held up another express letter and said: "Seizing Mengjin may cause an uproar in Luoyang. How does Your Highness plan to deal with it?"
Guo Song shook his head and said: "This matter is a bit troublesome. In fact, my original intention was not to capture Mengjing Pass, but to exert strong pressure on Mengjing Pass without causing any trouble. When Zhu Si was forced to retreat, I withdrew his troops back to the north bank, but I didn't expect that.
My general did not control it well and directly captured Mengjin Pass. This put me in a bit of a dilemma. If I advance, I have no plan to attack Luoyang. If I retreat, it will cause a serious blow to the morale of the army. People in the world thought that I was afraid of Zhu Si.
, does Sima have any better suggestions?"
Zhang Fengyi thought for a while and said: "Actually, it can be solved through negotiation. His Highness has made a not too difficult condition. After Zhu Si agrees, His Highness will withdraw the troops, so that both sides have steps to go down."
This is a good idea. Guo Song said happily: "We can negotiate, but how should we notify the other party?"
Zhang Qianyi smiled and said: "Let's see if Zhu Si has any family members in the hands of His Highness and send him back to Luoyang. Zhu Si will know what to do."
Guo Song pondered for a moment and then said: "Zhu Si's mother's coffin is still parked at Ci'en Temple. He originally wanted to build a mausoleum for his parents in Guanzhong. He heard that his father's cemetery was washed away by the river and nothing could be found, so he had no choice but to build a mausoleum for his parents in Guanzhong.
His mother's coffin was moved to be buried with his father's tomb, but he hurriedly evacuated eastward before being buried. His mother's coffin has been stored in Ci'en Temple and sent to Luoyang. Zhu Si will understand."
"In addition, I would like to ask you privately, what does Your Highness plan to do with Pei Xin and Yang Xuanying?"
Guo Song said calmly: "Sent troops without authorization and disobeyed military orders, so I was demoted one level. But for my meritorious service in capturing Mengjin, I was promoted to one level!"
.........
The news of the fall of Mengjin Pass panicked Zhu Si, and he quickly issued an order to recruit 100,000 troops in Luoyang to prepare for a decisive battle with Guo and Song's army.
But Liu Sigu blocked his will. Onlookers knew clearly that Liu Sigu knew why Guo Song wanted to seize Meng Jin at this juncture. Isn't this obvious?
"Your Majesty, there is no need to worry. Guo Song's capture of Mengjinguan was not to attack Luoyang, but to put pressure on His Highness to withdraw his troops and return to Luoyang."
"How can you see it?" Zhu Si was in a puzzle and hadn't figured it out yet.
"Your Majesty, Guo Song even sent Iron Fire Thunder to Jiangnan. Your Majesty said he cares about Luoyang or Jiangnan?"
One sentence made Zhu Si suddenly realize, yes! Even the powerful iron fire thunder weapon has been sent to Jiangnan, there is nothing he can't do.
Zhu Si was filled with anger when he mentioned the iron fire thunder. They had been researching firearms for several years, but so far, they had only made paper fire thunders, not even porcelain bottle fire thunders, let alone iron fire thunders.
He said sternly: "Those gunpowder makers who have nothing to do but have issued a military order. If there is no breakthrough before the end of the year, none of them will survive!"
Liu Sigu sighed when he mentioned the matter of gunpowder makers. Zhu Si also killed four gunpowder makers the year before last. It turned out that one of the gunpowder makers named Song Laoqiao really had some knowledge, and it was he who invented the paper fire thunder.
However, because he was too honest, his credit was taken away by his relatives in the Ordnance Supervisor. However, the blame for the delay in developing the Iron Fire Thunder was placed on him, and he and the other three were killed as scapegoats.
As a result, they soon couldn't even make paper fire thunder. Only then did they find out that Song Laoqiao was the only one who could prepare gunpowder, and before he died, he had also changed the registered formula. No one knew what the formula of paper fire thunder was.
What, when Zhu Si found out the truth, he became furious and executed the weapon supervisor and his relatives together, but to no avail, everything had to be tested again.
When Liu Sigu saw that Zhu Si was angry, it was hard to persuade him. He could only try to persuade him later when there was an opportunity.
"Your Highness, since we can't attack Jiangnan for the time being, it's better to wait for a few years and wait until the time is right."
Zhu Si sighed, "I originally thought that Jiangnan was a soft persimmon that could be pinched, but I didn't expect that it turned out to be a hard bone. Anyway, I'm content with sweeping Jiangbei, so let's leave Jiangnan alone!"
Zhu Si immediately ordered an army of 200,000 to assemble and return to Luoyang.
In early July, the King of Jin's order was also issued to Mengjinguan. Pei Xin and Yang Xuanying were demoted one level because they acted without authorization in violation of military orders. Pei Xin had just been promoted to General of Chariots and Cavalry because of his meritorious service in capturing Huaizhou, but he was demoted again.
As General of the Guard, Yang Xuanying was demoted from General Yingyanglang to General Yingshitong. However, because of their contribution to the capture of Mengjin Pass, they were each promoted to one rank. Pei Xin was promoted from County Duke to County Duke, and Yang Xuanying was also promoted from County Viscount.
He was promoted to county earl, and each person in the army was rewarded with ten coins, and his merits were recorded three times. Everyone was very happy for a while.
In mid-July, Zhu Si's army returned to Luoyang, bringing the total number of troops in Luoyang to 300,000. With the huge army as the confidence, the clamor for retaking Mengjinguan began to boil again.
But at this moment, King Guo Song of Jin sent someone to deliver the coffin of Zhu Si's mother to Luoyang. Even Zhu Si himself understood this small and gentle trick.
He immediately summoned several close ministers to discuss the matter.
"I guess Guo Song is hinting to me that the two sides can make peace, indicating that he doesn't want to occupy Mengjinguan all the time. Let's talk about it!"
"Your Majesty sees very clearly!"
Right Prime Minister Yuanxiu stood up first and said: "This shows that the Jin army's purpose in capturing Mengjing Pass is to force us to retreat. Once the Qin army gives up attacking Jiangnan and withdraws to Luoyang, they will abandon Mengjing Pass and return north, but they can't let go of their face, so
Guo Song hopes to negotiate with us to resolve the dispute, and sending the Queen Mother's coffin back is a sign of goodwill."
"Yuan Xiangguo always thinks of things too simply."
Left Prime Minister Yao Lingyan would not miss any opportunity to attack Yuan Xiu. Yuan Xiu immediately glared at him, "If you have the ability, tell me!"
"Of course I'm going to say it."
Yao Lingyan sneered, stood up and said: "Yuan Xiangguo made a big mistake. He thought that Guo Song was showing weakness and taking the initiative to withdraw his troops because of bad face. That was a big mistake. Guo Song was just exchanging benefits.
Then Meng Jinguan is replaced by another benefit, and we don't know what benefit he wants. As your Majesty said, his sending back the coffin of the Queen Mother is a hint, hinting that we send people to Chang'an to negotiate. If he shows weakness, it should be
He sent people to Luoyang to negotiate."
Yuan Xiu said angrily: "When did I say that Guo Song was showing weakness? Don't you mean the same thing as me? You have no brains, you plagiarized other people's ideas, and you slapped others on the back. That's what you're talking about."
!”
"You two, stop arguing!"
Zhu Si has a headache. Every time they discuss important matters, they have to confront each other. Although he does not want the two of them to unite and cooperate, he is also unwilling to face the endless tit-for-tat confrontation between the two of them. Why don't you two fight behind your back? Fei
You should treat it as your own face.
"Liu Junshi, tell me!" Zhu Si threw the ball to Liu Sigu.
Liu Sigu smiled slightly and said: "The two prime ministers are right. Now it is up to your majesty to make a decision. Should you attack Mengjin Pass, or take over Guo Song's goodwill and solve the problem through negotiation?"
Zhu Si thought of the powerful iron fire thunder, and he felt a little scared. After a while, he said: "Tell me, who is more suitable to send to Chang'an?"