The war in Youzhou has been settled, but the war in the south is still going on. Tian Yue fights on two fronts. He personally leads an army of 80,000 to besiege Liyang, and orders his cousin Tian Xu to lead an army of 30,000 to confront Li Na's army in Dizhou.
At this time, news came that the Jin army had captured Xindu City. Li Na was the first to admit defeat and led his army across the Yellow River to return to Zizhou. Tian Xu took the opportunity to lead his army to occupy Dizhou, removing Li Na's only territory in Hebei.
Zhu Si did not cross the Yellow River, but sat in Baima and directed the battle in Liyang City across the river.
At this time, Zhu Si also received the news that Zhu Tao had withdrawn to the north and that the Jin army had captured Xindu City. This news made Zhu Si feel cold.
"Your Majesty, give up!"
Counselor Kong Huaiqing advised: "The King of Yan fled north in panic. If the ministers guessed correctly, there must be something wrong with Youzhou."
Kong Huaiqing was a Hanlin scholar in the Qin Dynasty. Zhu Si brought him with him mainly to facilitate the preparation of decrees, but also used him as an adviser.
"This is your guess. Is there any basis for it?" Zhu Si asked with some displeasure.
"Your Majesty has received news from Chang'an. Guo Song led his army to Hebei, but Guo Song never showed up in Xindu. Where could he be? Your Majesty, Youzhou's troops are empty. The Jin army has not attacked Xindu for a long time. Isn't it just to delay the attack?
Will the main force of King Yan create opportunities for Guo and Song to attack Youzhou?"
This was the second time Kong Huaiqing reminded Zhu Si. Zhu Si didn't believe it before, but now, he is indeed a little shaken.
More importantly, Zhu Tao had already retreated north, and the Jin army captured Xindu. Their plan to unify Hebei had completely failed, and it was really time for him to withdraw his troops.
After a moment of silence, Zhu Si said: "Even if we no longer attack the north, I still hope to use Liyang City as a springboard for me to go north. It would be a pity to abandon Liyang."
"In this case, Your Majesty can send someone to negotiate with Tian Yue to end the war in Liyang and see if we can find a way acceptable to both parties."
Zhu Si accepted Kong Huaiqing's suggestion and sent Hu Cao to join the army Wang Wei to the Wei army camp to negotiate with Tian Yue.
Tian Yue was a little exhausted from attacking Liyang City. He also knew that even if their army captured Liyang City, the price would be very heavy.
Now that Zhu Si had given up his plan to go north, Tian Yue reached a compromise with Zhu Si and allowed Zhu Si to occupy Liyang City, but the garrison could not exceed 3,000. In reciprocity, the Wei army also used Fan County in Puzhou as its Li County on the south bank of the Yellow River.
, and also promised that the garrison would not exceed 3,000 people.
In fact, Fan County has always been under the control of the Wei Palace. Its strategic role is very small. At most, it is used as a commercial transit point. Zhu Si did not take it seriously. As for Tian Yue's proposal to garrison troops this time, Zhu Si also
I agreed. The county seat of Fan County is far inferior to Liyang City. Even if it is garrisoned with 10,000 troops, it cannot be defended.
The two sides reached an agreement, and Zhu Si began to withdraw his troops from Liyang City, evacuating the 20,000 troops in the city, leaving only 3,000 troops to continue to garrison Liyang City.
After Zhu Si's army withdrew to the Yellow River, it returned to Luoyang in a mighty manner. Tian Yue also led an army of 80,000 back to Yuancheng. However, as soon as Tian Yue arrived in Yuancheng, he received news from Youzhou. Guo Song led the army to occupy Youzhou.
This news made Tian Yue take a breath. Unexpectedly, the final battle for the four families to compete for Jizhou would end like this. Guo Song annexed the territory of Li Wujun and Zhu Tao, and he only got a piece of Li Na's territory.
In Hebei, six families competed for supremacy, and eventually it turned into a confrontation between two families.
Tian Yue was extremely worried, would he become Zhu Tao's second best? He couldn't sit still, and he quickly called Wang You to discuss countermeasures.
Wang You pondered for a moment and said: "It is indeed possible, but I don't think it will happen recently, at least not this year. Judging from Guo Song's previous tactics, he first stabilized the territory he had captured, and then moved on.
Expansion is like this in Longyou, Hedong, and Guanzhong, so we still have time."
"What should I do if there is still time? Defense or alliance?" Tian Yue said unable to hold back the annoyance in his heart.
"Both are needed. Your Majesty, the most important thing now is to strengthen defense. Increasing troops is one thing, but at the same time strengthening the quality of defense, such as the combat effectiveness of the army, the manufacturing of large defense weapons, etc., these are all must be done
The second thing is to form an alliance with Zhu Si. I hope he can provide us with help, especially in the development of iron fire thunder. I hope the two companies can work closely together."
Tian Yue walked a few steps with his hands behind his back and sighed softly: "These all require money!"
"We definitely need money and food. We can also ask Zhu Si for help. I hope he can support us."
At this time, a guard reported at the door: "Your Majesty, the King of Jin has sent someone to deliver a message."
Tian Yue was startled and looked at Wang You. Wang You was also a little confused in his eyes and said to Tian Yue: "Read the letter first and then talk!"
Tian Yue said quickly: "Bring the messenger up."
Not long after, the guards brought the messenger soldier up. The messenger bowed and presented a letter to Tian Yue. Tian Yue took the letter and asked, "Where is His Royal Highness King Jin now?"
"In reply to the prince, my lord should be in Taiyuan now."
Tian Yue was slightly startled. He thought Guo Song would continue to attack Liaodong, but he didn't expect that he would withdraw his troops and return to Taiyuan.
He quickly opened the letter and read it. The letter did not mention anything about Youzhou. He just hoped that the two countries would delimit the border as soon as possible and coexist peacefully. He handed the letter to Wang You, who read the letter and said: "Your Majesty, I think Jin
The king’s proposal is very sincere. The negotiation should be carried out as soon as possible. It is mentioned above that the negotiation will be held in Mingzhou. I think it is feasible in Mingzhou. Then the time can be set ten days later, which happens to be the fifth day of April. What do you think, the prince?"
"I agree!"
Tian Yue immediately wrote a reply letter and handed it to the messenger, telling him: "Time is tight. Please rush back to Taiyuan as soon as possible."
Tian Yue also ordered that the messenger be rewarded fifty taels of silver, and the messenger left.
"The military advisor thinks why Guo Song didn't continue to attack Liaodong? He wiped out Zhu Tao completely."
Wang You sighed and said: "Liaodong is a big pit. There are too many forces in it. Once you step in, it will be difficult to get out. I guess Guo Song also knows this, so he will not enter Liaodong easily, at least not yet."
Tian Yue thought for a while and then said: "Why did Guo and Song decide the border? Isn't it based on their current control areas?"
"I think he probably wants to set some rules, not to rob border residents, etc. These are necessary. Maybe he has other ideas that he can talk about. If the talks are good, he can probably buy him a year or two.
.”
Tian Yue thought for a moment and said: "Then please sir, go to Mingzhou and see what kind of medicine is sold in Guo Song Gourd?"
...........
At this time, Guo Song was indeed in Taiyuan, and Wen You happened to be in Taiyuan as well, so Guo Song decided to let Wen You go to Mingzhou to negotiate with Tian Yue on his behalf.
Guo Song drew a line along the Yongji Canal on the map and smiled at Wen You: "It is better to have a natural boundary. I think the Yongji Canal in the middle is the most suitable, and the western part is along the Fuyang River. This is
It was originally the natural boundary between Xingzhou and Xiangzhou, and the eastern part was divided by floating water..."
Fushui is a tributary connecting Yongji Canal and Bohai Sea. The river is not wide and has almost no reputation, but it just cuts Cangzhou into two, and Cangzhou is controlled by Tian Yue. Guo Song's sword is equivalent to cutting half of Cangzhou
Cut away.
Wen You shook his head, "According to this plan, the central part is bounded by Yongji Canal, and half of Beizhou will be given to us, as well as Cangzhou. Cangzhou was originally Tian Yue's territory, but now half of it is cut off. Will Tian Yue agree?
?”
Guo Song said with a deep smile: "Most of Cangzhou is a coastal beach, which is the most important sea salt production area in Hebei. If I cut off half of it, I also need Cangzhou's salt field, which is very important to us. With sea salt, the cost of each bucket of salt will be
If the price is reduced to five cents, the Council of Ministers will be able to earn three million guan of salt a year."
"Bizhi understands that the Cangzhou Saltworks is very important, but the problem is that Beizhou and Cangzhou will each take half of it, which seriously infringes on Tian Yue's interests. Will he agree?"
"I plan to use Huaizhou in exchange for him. I believe he will be willing."
"Huaizhou?"
Wen You was stunned for a moment before he understood Guo Song's intention. The importance of Huaizhou on the north bank of the Yellow River to the Jin State was greatly reduced, but it was very important to Tian Yue. No wonder the lord was so confident and separated Beizhou and Cangzhou.
half.
"If this is the case, maybe Tian Yue will agree."
Wen You hesitated again, "It's just that if this happens, the people of Huaizhou will suffer."
Guo Song said lightly: "Maybe they will suffer a little bit, but for the sake of the overall situation, I don't think there is anything I can't bear to endure the hardship for one or two years. I will compensate them in the future!"