Chapter 1 The New Year

The New Year has arrived. Today is the fifth year of Jianyan, and tomorrow will be the sixth year of Jianyan, or the second year of Jin Huangtong, or the sixth year of Xixia Zhengde.

On this day, Tokyo City is extraordinarily lively... Which New Year isn't lively? Especially in the world's largest metropolis?

Moreover, the Great Song has its own established customs: a seven-day holiday for the New Year, three days before and four days after. The three days before are for preparing New Year's goods, and the four days after are a special 'pu mai' (a type of gambling) window.

Pu mai refers to adding a certain gambling element to normal commercial activities, which was a very common phenomenon in Song Dynasty urban life. However, because gambling is wrong and difficult to prohibit, the government opened up a legal period after the New Year for small daily consumer goods, allowing legal gambling in the marketplace.

Of course, commercial transactions must be taxed, which also promotes internal economic circulation.

However, for the emperor, civil and military officials, nobles, and even the imperial students—that is, almost everyone with political status in the capital—this holiday is not more comfortable than for others, because in the middle of the holiday, on the first day of the first lunar month, a grand New Year's Day court assembly must be held.

Frankly speaking, this New Year's Day court assembly, where no real business is conducted, is meaningless.

It's still mostly formalism, more of a ritual than anything else. And to be blunt, if you really want internal democracy within the ruling class, the Taixue (Imperial Academy) discussions, the Gongge (Palace Library) and Mige (Secret Library), plus the Dusheng system established earlier in Nanyang, and the recent reforms of the various departments and local officials, which one isn't better than this?

But then again, it's the New Year's Day court assembly, a traditional political activity with a long history. Even if it's just for show, you have to put on a good face.

What's more, isn't this year about carrying on the past and opening up the future, about going on the offensive instead of just defending? And the pacification of the South and the destruction of the puppet Qi regime are enough to support this grand assembly.

The only trouble is that you have to go to court right after staying up all night, which is hard for some of the older officials. Therefore, on New Year's Eve, many experienced ministers and nobles go to bed early, or stay in their rooms, either resting or meditating, and only get up in the evening to cope with the next day's ordeal.

"Does Your Majesty really want to have dinner at my house for the New Year?"

In the late afternoon, there were already sporadic firecrackers. In the backyard of the old mansion of the Lu family, the most prominent family in the court, which had been passed down for four or five generations, near a few plum trees, on a winding small corridor, Lu Haowen, the chief of the Gongge, was casually holding a chess piece and asking.

Opposite him was none other than the current Emperor.

"Why not?" Zhao Jiu looked at the Go board in front of him, his brow slightly furrowed, looking troubled, as if he were at a disadvantage. "Does Minister Lu think I'm joking? I even brought you chicken and fish... The chicken isn't much, it was bought in the market, but the fish seedlings were quite large to begin with, and now they're usable. I had people specially scoop them out of the palace for you... Let's see if your family still eats vegetarian food today?"

"Your Majesty, this matter of eating vegetarian food..." Lu Haowen looked up at his eldest son, Lu Benzhong, the newly appointed drafter of the Imperial Secretariat, who was standing behind the Emperor. The latter understood and was about to explain.

"Eating vegetarian food is a necessity for poor families, but for families like yours, it's heresy. Preparing those vegetarian dishes is more troublesome than meat dishes, and it wastes manpower. It's just for show." Zhao Jiu heard Lu Benzhong speak and became even more merciless, directly scolding him. "Do you really think I'm using a chicken and a fish to suppress Buddhism and promote Yuanxue? Although I want to respect Yuanxue, I wouldn't use it for such things..."

The Lu father and son were both embarrassed.

After a moment, Lu Haowen placed a chess piece on the board and smiled wryly, "This old minister doesn't mean that. But after all, today is the New Year. Doesn't Your Majesty need to be filial to the two Empresses Dowager? And the two Imperial Concubines..."

"I already held a family banquet during the day, and in the afternoon, I had people perform a new play at Yanfu Palace, 'Elder Sun Thrice Beats the White Bone Demon'... It's taken from 'Miscellaneous Records of Journey to Subdue Demons,' which can be considered 'entertaining my parents with colorful clothes,' a different way of being filial." Zhao Jiu looked at the chessboard, picked up a piece, and slightly raised his eyebrows. "As for the two Imperial Concubines, they're so far along in their pregnancies. Forcing them to exert themselves would be troublesome if they had premature births. And if I only go to one place, or go to one place first, they would inevitably get upset. It's better for them to enjoy themselves with their families... Besides, isn't it right to comfort the old ministers of the country during the New Year?"

Lu Haowen just smiled wryly. Zhao Jiu said it casually and didn't pay much attention... They both knew that this was to resolve the previous embarrassment, a forced attempt to change the subject.

After a while, as the Zhao Emperor and the Lu Chief took turns placing pieces, Lu Benzhong went to the back door to instruct the kitchen staff with his younger brothers who were waiting there. When he returned to stand side by side with Yang Yizhong, the conversation between the ruler and his ministers finally turned to some serious matters.

"What does Wanyan Wushu mean by putting on that show with Huo Nv across the river? Huo Nv is just a rebel with ambition, with no more than 20,000 troops, but Wanyan Wushu is reluctant to take decisive action?" Lu Haowen said with a slightly serious expression. "Could it be that he really wants to give Yan'an to Xixia?"

"We're used to our own set of things, so we naturally can't understand the Jurchens' thinking." The Zhao Emperor replied frankly, but his answer seemed irrelevant. "Where is the foundation of the Jurchens' country? Isn't it the twenty wanhu (ten thousand households) in the east and west routes, and the clans and tribes left behind by these twenty wanhu! Compared with these twenty wanhu, land and population are not unimportant, but for now, they're just appendages of those twenty wanhu..."

At this point, the Zhao Emperor paused slightly before continuing to explain: "Here, the country is the country, the family is the family, and the army belongs to the state. But over there, firstly, the country and the family are indistinguishable, and the Wanyan clan divides the power internally and then monopolizes it; secondly, it's more like the country belongs to the army, and everything follows military power... Of course, there are Jurchens who understand reason, who know this is wrong, who want to change it, and who are changing it, but in the past twenty years, they've relied entirely on the army to swallow up thousands of miles of territory to get to where they are today. How can they change it so easily? Therefore, regarding the Yan'an matter, as long as you grasp this point, that is, the military and the country are equally important, or even the military is more important than the country, many strange behaviors of the Jurchens will become clear at a glance."

"If that's the case, then it makes some sense."

Lu Haowen was thoughtful and then seemed to understand. "It seems that Wanyan Wushu's inspection of Hedong this time, from a public point of view, is primarily to bring Huo Nv's 20,000 troops back under state command. This is the top priority. From a private point of view, he may also want to manage the West Route Army and expand his influence in the army... As for whether to give Yan'an to the Xixia people, or whether to keep it, it has nothing to do with anything else, but only with the outcome between him and Huo Nv?"

"Probably." Zhao Jiu replied casually. "In fact, it's not just the Yan'an matter, but also the Jurchens' various actions before. As long as you understand that the Jurchens are somewhat of a country owned by the military, or at least the military and the country are equally important, then many things that seem strange will become clear. Not to mention the Jingkang Incident, after the Battle of Yaoshan, the Jin army effectively lost four wanhu on the east and west routes at the same time. Therefore, in the eyes of most of them, crossing the river again for a reckless battle would be tantamount to undermining their own foundation. Since the main force couldn't cross the river again, then both Jingdong and northern Shaanxi were useless things, and it became logical to use them for peace negotiations, and it seemed insignificant to hand them over to Xixia as bait. Conversely, if you can't damage their military strength, but only use the situation of advance and retreat and the morality of the people to determine the Jurchens' decision-making ideas, it's like talking to animals, bringing humiliation upon yourself... Of course, it will be harder to say this later on."

Lu Haowen shook his head repeatedly, not knowing whether he disagreed or was thinking of something.

"But no matter what." Zhao Jiu said seriously. "Whether he gets entangled with Huo Nv or not, whether he wants to transfer Yan'an or not, I don't care, and I don't want to give up this opportunity... Besides, the die is cast, the troops have already been mobilized. If Prime Minister Lu wants to advise against this, there's no need to mention it."

Lu Haowen shook his head even more, but asked another strange question: "May I ask Your Majesty, why do you trust Yue Fei so much?"

Zhao Jiu looked up at him, then turned his head to look at Yang Yizhong and Lu Benzhong standing beside him. After a moment of silence, he gave a perplexing answer: "Naturally, because of his background and experience."

Lu Haowen placed another piece and blurted out: "Experience is easy to say, but background, is it because he's from Hebei and his determination to fight the Jin remains unchanged?"

"Of course, that's part of it, but it's not just that." Zhao Jiu looked at the chessboard in front of him and slowly replied. "There are many people who fled from Hebei, and Li Qiong is one of them, but why do I value Yue Fei alone? Isn't it because he also has a tenant farmer's background?"

The atmosphere under the corridor became subtle for a moment.

"There's no need to doubt it. I mean what you think I mean." Zhao Jiu casually placed a piece without looking at the reactions of the people next to him. "Emperor Wu of Han used people who came later, and I use people of humble origins who are more likely to succeed... Just like when I promoted Zhao Ding to Prime Minister, it was partly because he had been a minor official for more than ten years. As for Han Shizhong, who came from a rogue and bankrupt family in northern Shaanxi, and Zhang Jun, Wu Jie, and Wang De, who came from good families in the borderlands, they all have some of this meaning. As for Qu Duan, who lost his father at a young age, Li Qiong, a refugee from Hebei, and Li Yanxian and Li Shifu, local tyrants in the borderlands, they also have their merits, but they are ultimately not as pleasing to me as Yue Fei, who is a tenant farmer and a refugee from Hebei. In comparison, I intend to suppress and dismiss those military aristocratic families. Han Xiaozhou is someone I wouldn't even use, and even a family like Prime Minister Lu's, which has had four generations of commanders-in-chief, if it hadn't been for the lucky chance encounter at Mingdao Palace, I wouldn't even have looked at them."

The Zhao Emperor was sarcastic, not knowing whether it was a psychological warfare tactic for playing chess, but if so, it could only be said that he had succeeded. Upon hearing this, the atmosphere under the corridor became even stranger. Yang Yizhong remained expressionless, but the two Lus were inevitably embarrassed. Lu Haowen made repeated mistakes, allowing the Zhao Emperor to repeatedly succeed on the chessboard.

"Your Majesty means that great generals must rise from the ranks, and prime ministers must rise from the prefectures and counties, is that roughly the meaning?" After a while, Lu Haowen spoke awkwardly, trying to smooth things over while playing chess. "And how many people from aristocratic families know the hardships of the people?"

"Roughly, but not entirely." Zhao Jiu continued to sigh while placing his pieces rapidly. "In the end, I actually still want to talk about the word 'experience'. Even background is part of experience. Just like most people are born as ignorant babies, and later there are thousands of differences. What level they can reach depends on their experiences and how much they experience... Being born into a tenant farmer's family, working hard to become a commander, naturally knows more about the hardships of the people, understands the thoughts of the lower-level soldiers, and understands the infighting among the middle-level officials than being born into a family of four generations of high officials."

"That's undeniable." Lu Haowen chuckled.

"Just like Yue Pengju." Zhao Jiu continued to ramble on. "If he hadn't been born into a tenant farmer's family, known the hardships of the people, known about military supplies, known that every bow and arrow is exchanged for the food in the mouths of the people, and how hard it is to come by a grain of rice in the mouths of the people, how could he have valued military discipline so much? How could he have cultivated private virtue so much? This is where even Han Liangchen, Zhang Boying, Li Shaoyan, and Wu Jinqing are far inferior to him. As for Qu Da, he's usually unruly, but perhaps because he grew up as an orphan, he's second only to Yue Pengju in military discipline... Everyone says I value Qu Duan's merit in saving me, but if he hadn't had outstanding military discipline in northern Shaanxi and the merit of pacifying the people and stabilizing the borders in the northwest, he wouldn't have been reinstated to begin with."

Lu Haowen said with a slightly serious expression: "Your Majesty's words are extremely correct!"

"And the experience I mentioned at the beginning, it's not just about Yue Pengju's experience in winning battles, but also his experience of retreating from Yanyun to Taiyuan, from Taiyuan to Xiangzhou, and then all the way out of Hebei, collapsing to the Central Plains. It's also his experience of following Wang Yan and separating from Wang Yan, serving under Zhang Suo and Zhang Suo dying in battle... Without these experiences that almost coincided with the Jin's southward invasion, where would the hatred for the Jin come from, where would the persistence of the first two years of Jianyan come from, and where would this year's proper use of troops come from?" Zhao Jiu still sighed. "Yue Fei isn't really a Bodhisattva reincarnated, born with knowledge. He was just born in a chaotic world. In just a few years, he experienced more than most people do in their entire lives, saw more than most people do in their entire lives, and then he was willing to learn, willing to think, willing to do, plus some natural talent. That's how he became a famous general of the country!"

Lu Haowen couldn't help but exchange a look with his eldest son. Even Yang Yizhong was slightly moved, and he exchanged glances with the Lu father and son, then became thoughtful.

"Actually, I often think," Zhao Jiu, of course, knew what these people were thinking and continued to sigh. "Some things are fundamentally connected by cause and effect... Just like during the Jingkang Incident, when the officials were complacent and the military was lax, the two emperors were in Shaoxing, saying that it would have been better if they had given me the throne at that time. But if I had been in that situation at that time, would I really have been stronger than Emperor Yuan Sheng? Not to mention anything else, you, Prime Minister Lu, ask yourself, you were also highly regarded in Emperor Yuan Sheng's court at that time, but looking at your actions at that time from today's perspective, aren't they as ridiculous as watching clowns jumping around? Just like me, I can only try to avoid talking about my actions before Huai Shang, because if I talk about them, it's my own fault."

Lu Haowen shook his head and couldn't answer. Lu Benzhong, who was standing on the side, also sighed rarely... Because this question had a definite answer. After the Jingkang Incident, Lu Haowen recalled those ridiculous actions in Jingkang before, and then saw the country's fate, and then was humiliated and attacked by people like Li Gang, and almost wanted to commit suicide.

Even Lu Haowen himself publicly admitted those political mistakes three years ago when he returned to the old capital. As for the Zhao Emperor's initial actions, it could only be said that it was not appropriate for a subject to say too much.

"Prime Minister Lu, I know what you mean by this question. In the end, you're still worried that Xixia's foundation is deep and can't be won, and you want to advise me to slow down... Right?" Zhao Jiu suddenly placed a piece on the board, then looked up and asked seriously... In fact, he had already taken advantage of Lu Haowen's confusion to gain the upper hand, but suddenly he lost interest, so he simply abandoned the game.

"Yes." Lu Haowen put his hands together in response, obviously with no reason to deny it. "But it's not just me who's worried. There have been various opinions in the court these days, which have caused turmoil in the government and the public... For example, the Honglu Temple has repeatedly summoned the Xixia envoy Gao Shouyi and sternly reprimanded him. The Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War are also clearly transporting grain and allocating military supplies to the west. The Dibao (official gazette) is even more severe day by day... Those in the Gongge, although they don't have access to real court secrets, each family has its own connections and channels, so of course they have long had speculation. And I, as the Chief of the Gongge, can't pretend to be deaf and dumb."

"So the Gongge and Prime Minister Lu are worried that I will return without success?" Zhao Jiu continued to ask seriously. "Because you're worried that Xixia has a century-old foundation that is deep and unshakable?"

"Yes."

"But has Prime Minister Lu ever thought about it, although Xixia has a century-old foundation, the imperial court is also different from the past?" Zhao Jiu sat upright with his hands together, shaking his head in response after hearing this. "In the past, what were those in the military? Weren't only generals from military families allowed to be generals, and didn't the soldiers have no experience in battle and no abundance of military supplies and armor? But now, how many of the commanders who are being used in the court come from military families? And how many victories and defeats have the imperial troops in the court won?"

Lu Haowen was silent.

"Not to mention the soldiers' experience and equipment, just take the most obvious saying, 'great generals must rise from the ranks, and prime ministers must rise from the prefectures and counties...' Zhao Jiu snorted coldly, becoming even more emotional. "This saying is simple, but in times of peace, not to mention Zhang Rong and Li Bao, just take Han, Yue, Li, and Zhang, could they really become commanders? Can those so-called military families and military seeds really compare to these people who have been forged through great waves and hundreds of battles? At the beginning of Jianyan, weren't military families and military seeds still everywhere? But now, besides Liu Qi and Yang Yizhong, who else remains? I said I look at background to use people, that's a later thing. It's precisely because these people can't be used, it's precisely because these poor people like Han, Yue, Li, and Zhang are like awls in a bag, their sharpness fully revealed, that I have this habit of looking at background to use people... Prime Minister Lu, with such commanders in hand who are destined to be famous throughout history like the famous generals of ancient times, if I don't use them, I'm wasting their talents and wasting the blood that my millions of people have exchanged for."

Lu Haowen was silent for a moment, then could only nod his head.

"In comparison," Zhao Jiu suddenly smiled again. "Does Prime Minister Lu know the backgrounds of the people who are currently in charge of the military and government in Xixia?"

Although Lu Haowen knew nothing, he still made a slight guess: "Are they all members of the imperial clan?"

"That's right." Zhao Jiu smiled frankly. "While Li Ganshun promotes Han learning and Buddhism, he still favors the imperial clan... Not only is the leader of the troops his half-brother Chage, but Wei Ming Anhui, who is in charge of the government, is also a member of the imperial clan. Li Renzhong, the most important Henan transportation envoy among the local officials, is also a member of the imperial clan. And the remaining garrison generals and chief officials of the various prefectures are either surnamed Li or Wei Ming... So Prime Minister Lu, you don't need to persuade me anymore. Since ancient times, the prosperity of the founding and the difficulties of maintaining the status quo have been said. Now, our dynasty rarely has good generals and brave soldiers. If we don't try, I will never be at ease. Moreover, if Yelü Dashi doesn't respond, I will ultimately only make a show of force and then retreat directly."

"If Your Majesty is determined, I, a retired old minister, shouldn't say more." Having said this, Lu Haowen could only put his hands together and sigh. "But what if Yelü Dashi doesn't respond? I think, since Yelü Dashi wants to manage the Western Regions, whether he wants to restore the old country or wants to establish a foothold in the Western Regions, the Hexi region is enough to tempt him... But what if he doesn't have enough troops and is wary?"

Zhao Jiu slowly nodded: "Xixia has a century-old foundation, and Yelü Dashi has only been in the Western Regions for more than a year. It's normal if he's wary of Xixia's foundation... But this is not something I should think about. It can only be said that I will do my best and leave the rest to fate. However, today I'm having a private chat with Prime Minister Lu, I can still say privately that I personally believe that this person will come."

"How so?"

"Prime Minister Lu, don't forget, the most powerful thing in the world is of course the tiger descending the mountain, but only the dog that has lost its home can meet the tiger descending the mountain!" Zhao Jiu finally sighed with a smile again. "And at this time, Yelü Dashi and us are the same, that is, we both have the momentum of descending the mountain and the reality of losing our home... He knows us, and we know him."

Lu Haowen first sighed, then thought for a while, but for some reason, when he thought of the Jin's momentum of descending the mountain at the beginning, and then the Song people's reality of losing their home, the various experiences during that time, and the many figures involved, he couldn't help but become a little dazed.

"I've read the letter, Vice Minister Hu. Do you know how your emperor described us in the letter?"

The sky in the west gets dark later, but it will eventually get dark. Yelü Dashi, who was thousands of miles away in the depths of the military camp next to the Gaochang Palace, who did not know that the New Year had already passed in Tokyo, had already regained his clarity, but only summoned a few confidant generals in the military camp, and then spoke specifically to Hu Hongxiu and Yelü Yudu.

Hu Hongxiu, who had rested a little, shook his head seriously: "I don't know."

"That's right, how would you know such words?" Yelü Dashi slowly smiled and handed the letter in his hand to Xiao Wolila beside him. Just as he was about to explain clearly, he didn't know why, but suddenly he laughed wildly under the light, laughing so hard that he bent over, laughed so hard that he clapped his hands and supported his knees, laughed so hard that he clutched his stomach, and laughed so hard that tears came out, making everyone confused.

Only the tears on his face, like the armor and weapons behind him, shimmered slightly in the night.

After a long while, Yelü Dashi finally recovered, and then revealed the answer with a smile: "Vice Minister Hu, your emperor said in the letter that me and my Khitan warriors are all dogs that have lost their homes!"

As soon as these words came out, Yelü Yudu's face changed greatly, and Hu Hongxiu was also slightly stunned. Several Khitan generals in the tent glared at him... After all, this was too different from the lure of dividing the Hexi region in the verbal message, and the tactful words of the reed flowers in Linhuang Prefecture.

After revealing the answer, Yelü Dashi covered his face with his hands again in the tent, looked up and laughed non-stop.

But this time, he only laughed twice. Xiao Wolila, who had finished reading the letter, handed the letter to another person behind him, then turned around and said to his king with gritted teeth:

"Great King, is what he said wrong?!"

Yelü Dashi immediately stopped laughing, but almost froze in his seat, still looking up, his hands still covering his face motionless.

"Great King!" Xiao Wolila took half a step forward and continued to say solemnly. "Is the Zhao Song emperor mocking us? Didn't he also say that he himself was once a dog that had lost his home, and still has half of Hebei that hasn't been taken back, so he still counts as a dog that has lost his home? Didn't he say that only dogs that have lost their homes can do things that are usually difficult to do... We came from Kedun City, doesn't that fit this saying? If we can take the Hexi region with the Great River as the boundary, and look at the Western Capital Datong from the Yin Mountains, isn't that what we've been diligently seeking?"

Yelü Dashi released his hands, took a long breath, then sat down, looked at the taciturn Hu Hongxiu, and Yelü Yudu, who had been abandoned by the Jin like gravel. He had originally wanted to avoid them and say something else, but now it came out directly: "How can I not know the temptation of the Hexi region? And Lou Shi's helmet is enough for me to forget the Xuanhe story and believe in this new emperor of Zhao Song again... But the problem is that Xixia has a century-old foundation. Even if 30,000 soldiers are lost in the Yin Mountains, how can it be easily shaken? We only have this many soldiers. If we can't do it in one fell swoop, what should we do then?"

"Even if we don't win, we can retreat back to Hamil, right?" Xiao Wolila said eagerly. "What's there to worry about? They said clearly that the Zhao Song emperor will personally go to Guanzhong, dispatching troops to attack Yan'an and Hengshan as a diversion, and we will attack later, without any risk..."

"If we don't win, what if the Xizhou Uyghurs turn against us again?" Yelü Dashi asked sternly. "We'll be caught in the Hexi corridor, unable to advance or retreat. At that time, I'm afraid we can only surrender to Xixia or defect to the Song people, right?"

Xiao Wolila was speechless for a moment.

Seeing this, Yelü Dashi sighed: "Not to mention the Hexi region, how can I not want to return to Linhuang Prefecture to see the reed flowers outside the city again, and then wear plain clothes and wide robes for a picnic outside the city on an autumn day, reciting a sentence about 'reeds and rushes, white dew is frost' by the river? In fact, when I went on this western expedition, I had already thought that if I could establish a foundation in the Western Regions, I would definitely reorganize my troops and march east, and attack the Jurchens with the Song people... But that requires 100,000 elite soldiers to think about. And now that the country is lost, the Khitan foundation is only left with us. With few soldiers and few generals, how can we dare to gamble everything? Wolila, Xixia is after all a country that has been established for a hundred years! Once we get trapped, if we can't succeed, and the Jurchens go to help them again, and we can't advance or retreat, what should we do?"

Xiao Wolila no longer spoke.

"Why doesn't the Great King drive the Xizhou Uyghurs as the vanguard to the east?" At this moment, Yelü Yudu, who had not had the opportunity to speak, suddenly interjected. "And conquer Xixia together with Jabil Ge?"

The Khitan generals in the camp were moved, but Yelü Dashi just sat in his seat expressionlessly and did not respond solemnly.

"Great King, what you said is actually reasonable, but has the Great King ever thought that if we can't return today, can we return in the future?" Yelü Yudu took half a step forward, pressing on closely.

"What do you mean?" Yelü Dashi only leaned back slightly in his seat, and still remained motionless. Xiao Wolila stepped forward to respond for him.

"I was also forced to be a dog that lost its home due to the situation, but I know that once I'm under someone else's roof and get a little stability, it's difficult to arouse any ambition." Yelü Yudu's face was unsightly, and he lowered his head to speak sincerely. "Even this time of fleeing was designed by someone, and I was passively thrown out... Then may I ask the Great King and everyone, once you take a foothold in the Western Regions, and then govern 100,000 elite soldiers, can you send 70,000 or 80,000 to the east? At that time, will you really have the courage to leave the life of 'grape wine, luminous cups'? To fight the Jurchens again? Even if the two of you are willing, how many soldiers under your command will still remember the Khitan at that time? Are those local soldiers in the Western Regions willing to be the vanguard for the King? And what will be the relationship between the Han and the Jurchens at that time? Who can say for sure? Great King, opportunity knocks but once. This matter, although it's the Han emperor who is inviting the Khitan King, isn't it also a lifeline that cannot be abandoned for the Khitan?"

Xiao Wolila did not respond, but turned his head to look at Yelü Dashi.

But Dashi just put his hand on his forehead in his seat, as if he was thinking about something.

"When I fled to Xixia, the Xixia garrison asked me how many soldiers I had. I replied with two or three hundred, and then I was mocked and rejected, and then I could only seek refuge with the Great Song." Seeing this, Yelü Yudu took another half step forward, almost crossing Xiao Wolila, and came to Yelü Dashi. Then he continued to ask earnestly: "Today, I take the liberty to ask the Great King... How many soldiers do you have in the end?"

"Thirty thousand!"

Yelü Dashi suddenly opened his mouth, but stared at Hu Hongxiu, who was standing motionless in the distance. "Including the newly surrendered Xizhou Uyghur tribes, a mere dog that has lost its home can send at most 30,000 troops! I have to leave some soldiers to guard Hamil!"

The generals in the camp were excited for a moment.

"It's about the same as our emperor's forces in Huai Shang defending against the Jurchens." Hu Hongxiu bowed his hands and saluted. "Great King, what is the current relationship between the Khitan and the Xixia people?"

"It's still considered open."

"I would like to borrow a delegation going to Xixia to send a foreign minister back to Lanzhou quickly through the Hexi corridor... According to the agreement, our Emperor will first knock the mountain and shake the tiger, luring the enemy to the Hengshan line. And I will report to the Emperor with 30,000 troops. If it doesn't work, it doesn't work. And if it works, we will naturally send a large army to Hengshan. At that time, please send someone from your delegation to return to this place quickly. Please don't forget today's agreement of 30,000 troops!" Hu Hongxiu said seriously.

"Take a word to the Emperor of Great Song for me." Yelü Dashi suddenly smiled. "I am very satisfied with the gifts he sent, the words he brought, and the Hexi prefectures he promised... But those are all minor details. What moved me today is precisely the four words 'dog that has lost its home', because it's too appropriate!"

Hu Hongxiu rarely smiled: "Is the Great King comparing himself to Confucius? This foreign minister will definitely bring it back."

After saying that, he calmly said goodbye, but left Yelü Yudu here.

With the spring flowers blooming, there are still four days of holiday after the New Year's Day court assembly. But as soon as the holiday was over, on the fifth day of the first lunar month, the Zhao Emperor suddenly abandoned the two imperial concubines who were about to give birth, and directly led the imperial cavalry, part of the imperial central army, and the imperial forward army, which had arrived in Tokyo during the New Year, a total of 30,000 troops, claiming to be 50,000, and marched west to Chang'an with Yue Fei as the main general... According to the Dibao, the Jin people had reached a deal with the Xixia people to give Yan'an to Xixia... How can this be tolerated?

Therefore, the Great Song must send a large army to the west to question Li Ganshun and take back Yan'an.

And the Emperor's westward journey to Chang'an to sit in Guanzhong is precisely to first use the majesty of the Emperor to deter Xixia, demanding that the Xixia ruler Li Ganshun come to apologize with thorns on his back, so as to avoid an unnecessary war with Xixia. For this reason, Zheng Zhichang, an important minister of Goryeo, who had come again to participate in the New Year's Day court assembly to congratulate the Great Song on recovering Jingdong, was invited to accompany him, supposedly to use the identity of this 'international friend' to negotiate with the Xixia people.

Of course, Zheng Zhichang was completely happy to do such a world-famous thing.

"Is there anything else?" At Yuetai in the west of the city, Zhao Jiu, dressed in military uniform, drank the farewell wine in one gulp, and then spoke to the ministers who had come to see him off.

Below Zhao Ding, everyone looked at each other. How could there be any words? Today's events were all brought about by the Zhao Emperor, including the dispatch of Yue Fei's 10,000 elite troops to this place, all of which he did personally. The state of using his own authority and power has already been revealed.

"There is one thing that requires Your Majesty to decide." In the silence, suddenly, Zhai Ruwen, the Minister of Rites, finally remembered something. "If the imperial concubine gives birth to an imperial heir while Your Majesty is in the west..."

"Don't make any arrangements for the title yet." The Zhao Emperor replied frankly. "Wait until I come back. But I have already thought of the names... If it's a boy, call them Yuanzuo and Dezhuo in order. If it's a girl, call them Yuanyou and Dezhou in order... Yuan for Yuanxue, De for morality... In the name of the father, I wish the power of Yuanxue to be with my eldest