In Lin'an, it has been two days since Zhao Gou received the pigeon letter from Xu Xiantu, but he has yet to make a decision.
I'm afraid Xu Xiantu didn't expect that the two conditions that he thought were not big problems would be firmly opposed by Qin Hui and Zhu Shengfei.
Chen Qing put forward two conditions. The first condition was to allow the Western fleet to pass through the border, and the second condition was to take over all the siege weapons in the Yangzhou warehouse.
In fact, these two conditions were not high, and Zhao Gou wanted to agree, but Qin Hui and Zhu Shengfei were firmly opposed.
Qin Hui and Zhu Shengfei also had good reasons for their objections. They agreed that the Song Army's defeat in Haizhou was a trap set by the Jin Bing and the Western Army. Otherwise, the Jin Bing would not have surrendered more than 20,000 surrendered troops to the Western Army for no reason.
It must be an agreement they reached in advance.
He harmed the Song army and finally used the prisoners of war of the Song army to bargain. This kind of bad behavior was intolerable. Qin Hui strongly suggested that the emperor would rather not take prisoners of war than compromise with Chen Qing, and he must not let the court suffer such a shame and humiliation.
Did Qin Hui and Zhu Shengfei really want to protect the dignity of the emperor and the court?
In fact, it was not the case. Qin Hui and Zhu Shengfei both went for Xu Xiantu. They both believed that Xu Xiantu would definitely be dismissed from the prime minister this time. However, they did not expect that Xu Xiantu actually went to the Central Plains to negotiate with Chen Qing on behalf of the emperor.
Once the negotiation is successful, Xu Xiantu will have made a great contribution by bringing back more than 20,000 prisoners of war. It is very likely that his merits and demerits will be offset, and he will escape the disaster of being dismissed.
After finally waiting for the opportunity to depose Xu Xiantu, how could Qin Hui and Zhu Shengfei allow him to make a comeback again?
Therefore, the conspiracy theory that the Western Army and the Jin Bing colluded was born. It happened that the Jin Bing handed over the prisoners of war to the Western Army. Qin Hui immediately seized on this to make a fuss. If they had not colluded, how could the Jin Bing take more than 20,000 prisoners of war for no reason?
Give it to the Western Army?
Zhao Gou's biggest problem was that he had a soft ear and was not firm in his stance. Qin Hui and Zhu Shengfei's joint opposition had good reasons, which made him hesitate a little, and he did not make a decision for two days.
This morning, Zhao Gouzheng was pacing back and forth in the imperial study room in an uneasy mood. Today was already the third day. He had to make a decision today. Should he agree to Chen Qing's conditions or call Xu Xiantu back? But he did
Can't make up my mind.
At this moment, the chamberlain reported at the door: "Your Majesty, Tao Lin, the great scholar, is here to deliver the order!"
Zhao Gou was immediately reminded that he could also discuss it with Tao Lin, and he quickly said: "Announce his appearance!"
Not long after, Tao Lin, a scholar, hurriedly walked into the imperial study. He was ordered to inspect Fujian Road. He just came back the day before yesterday and has been writing an inspection report in the mansion for the past two days.
"I am here to see Your Majesty!"
Zhao Gou saw that he had lost a lot of weight and nodded, "Tao Aiqing has worked hard on patrol this month!"
"Wei Chen deserves to work harder!"
He submitted a memorial to Zhao Gou, "This is the inspection report of the minister, please read it!"
Zhao Gou took the memorial, put it aside, and said with a wry smile: "I happen to be undecided about something, and I want to hear Aiqing's opinion!"
"I am willing to share your Majesty's worries!"
Zhao Gou simply told Tao Lin that Xu Xian was going to negotiate with the Western Army and Qin Hui, but that Zhu Shengfei was opposed.
Tao Lin frowned and said: "Your Majesty, I think these two conditions are not too much! First of all, the first condition is not a condition, it is just a means of passage, and the second condition only requires siege weapons, even if we don't need them.
Idle things, these two conditions do not involve land and property, it should be said that the Western Army is still very sincere, why has His Highness not agreed?"
"I also think these two conditions are good, but what Qin Xianggong said makes sense. If the Western Army and the Jin Bing did not collude, how could the Jin Bing hand over 23,000 people to the Western Army for no reason? This must have been discussed in advance
Good conditions?"
Tao Lin shook his head and said: "Your Majesty, Qin Xianggong's objection sounds righteous, but in fact it cannot withstand careful scrutiny."
Zhao Gou said quickly: "Tao Aiqing, please explain in detail. Sometimes I am confused by the authorities and cannot understand the situation."
"Your Majesty, first of all, the most important thing is that saying that the Western Army and the Jin Bing colluded was just speculation by Qin Xianggong. Neither he nor Zhu Xianggong had any conclusive evidence. They just said that I think it should be like this, I think it should be like that, and the feeling is the truth.
?"
Zhao Gou nodded, "It makes sense, keep talking!"
"Secondly, there is a serious unreasonableness here. Neither Qin Xianggong nor Zhu Xianggong saw it, that is, the Western Army took the opportunity to occupy Qushan County. Wei Chen believes that if the Western Army and Jin Bing really reach an agreement, this agreement will
It will definitely not include handing over Haizhou and Qushan County to the Western Army, not to mention a large amount of food and supplies, and the annihilation of the city-defending militia."
"It's really impossible!"
"Your Majesty, here's the problem. If the Western Army and the Jin Bing reached an agreement, and the Western Army took the opportunity to occupy Qushan County, this is obviously a major violation of the agreement. Why would the Jin Bing continue to implement the agreement honestly and spend 20,000 yuan?
Isn’t it ridiculous to hand over many prisoners of war to the Western Army? Your Majesty, I can’t explain it!”
Zhao Gou was reminded that the Western Army was competing with the Jin soldiers for the Shandong Road. How could they reach an agreement? He was really confused. He didn't even think of the most crucial point. If they could reach an agreement to deal with him, the Song Dynasty would have perished long ago.
.
"Then Aiqing, why do you think the Jin soldiers gave more than 20,000 prisoners of war to the Western Army?"
"Your Majesty, there are many factors involved. For example, the Jin soldiers have no food, and they don't have enough to eat. How can they control the rations of the Song Army prisoners of war? Just give it to the Western Army as a favor, and by the way, it can also adjust the relationship between the Western Army and the imperial court.
, or the retreat route of the Jin soldiers was cut off, and it was entirely possible to use prisoners of war from the Song army as an alternative retreat route. It is simply ridiculous to say that the two colluded."
At this time, Zhao Gou finally came to his senses. Qin Hui objected to the negotiation, probably because he was targeting Xu Xiantu.
He cursed secretly in his heart, then nodded and said: "I understand, thank you so much for clarifying my confusion."
"I will not disturb Your Majesty, please leave!"
Tao Lin bowed and slowly exited the imperial study. Zhao Gou pondered for a moment and said: "Pass on my will and send a dove letter to Xu Xiangguo immediately. I agree to the two conditions of the Western Army!"
Ruan De led his men to retreat to the Fengxian camp. They retreated to the east bank of the Yellow River and marched day and night. They rushed back to the Fengxian camp in just one day and one night.
After hearing the report, Chen Qing was overjoyed and ordered a reward of 10,000 yuan and 20,000 pieces of silk, and all generals were promoted to one level.
The three of them thanked each other and left. Chen Qing smiled at Yang Zaixing and said, "The cooperation between them is very tacit. I can see the shadow of Liu Qiong and Tang Qian. They can perform more and more difficult tasks if they cooperate with each other."
Yang Zaixing nodded, "Since His Highness thinks so, I will transfer Huang Dong to Jiaolong Camp as deputy general."
Chen Qing added: "After they eliminate the Jin soldiers and naval forces, they can go deep into the enemy's rear by boat. Give them fifty warships and let them intercept the enemy's logistics team, especially the 50,000 people in Rencheng County."
Army, I have received information that the general is Zhang Zhongxiong. They have just stationed in Rencheng County, which means that Rencheng County did not reserve enough food and grass in advance. Cutting off Rencheng County's logistics is a very important step. "
"I understand my position, make arrangements immediately!"
Yang Zaixing bowed and left. At this time, a soldier quickly walked to the door of the main tent and said: "Your Highness, Military Advisor Zhang is here with Xu Xiangguo."
"Invite them in!"
Zhang Xiao accompanied Xu Xiantu into the big tent. Xu Xiantu was smiling all over his face, with a relaxed look on his face. He no longer had the frown on his face like the previous two days.
"I saw that Xu Xiangguo brought good news!" Chen Qing said with a smile.
Xu Xiantu nodded, "The Emperor fully agrees to the two conditions put forward by His Highness and is willing to give all the siege weapons in the Yangzhou warehouse to the Western Army."
Chen Qing asked the two of them to sit down and asked with a smile: "Xianggong Xu should know how much it is!"
Xu Xiantu nodded, "There are thirty heavy trebuchets, twenty nest vehicles, ten battering rams, five thousand-foot cannons, and more than a thousand siege ladders."
"What about the bed crossbow and the divine arm crossbow?" Chen Qing asked again.
Xu Xiantu was startled, "These two are defensive weapons! They are not siege weapons."
"They are both offensive and defensive. If Mr. Xu is in trouble, I want half of the inventory of these two."
Xu Xiantu thought for a while and agreed, "Okay! I'll give you two thousand bed crossbows, fifty thousand jackdaw arrows, ten thousand divine arm crossbows, and three hundred thousand arrows. I never lie, these are all in stock."
half of."
Chen Qing smiled and said: "Is there still kerosene and gunpowder in the Yangzhou warehouse?"
"Your Highness is really greedy."
Xu Xiantu sighed helplessly and said: "We don't produce kerosene. We haven't had it since we moved south. It is said that Zhang Jun's army has kerosene. I don't know how he got it, but your highness should know very well. As for gunpowder,
The warehouses in the Ordnance Supervision and Yangzhou are gone, and the mine producing fire and saltpeter is on Sichuan Road."
Chen Qing smiled slightly and said: "In that case, give me the five hundred craftsmen who made the gunpowder! I will not ask for your craftsmen in vain. Xu Xiangguo can tell your majesty that I will exchange for him five thousand war horses."