Shang Ting opened the official document and read it again.
The Xuanfu Department of Jingzhao Prefecture was renamed "Shaanxi and Sichuan Xingzhongshu Province", Lian Xixian was promoted to the right prime minister of Xingzhongshu Province, and Shang Ting was promoted to Qianxing to save trouble.
This is a good thing. It is a great contribution to reward Lian Xixian and pacify Guanlong.
Shang Ting was fifty-one years old, and he was already a famous official. Lian Xixian was only twenty-nine years old. Although he was the prime minister of a province, the provinces of Great Mongolia were larger than those of ordinary countries, so he could be called a solid minister.
Mutually.
It can be seen that the great contribution was made in pacifying Guanlong.
But Shang Ting's expression became even more worried.
He had already conveyed the news of Wang Liangchen's defeat and the fall of Longxi to Kaiping. So, before these bad news reached Kaiping, His Majesty had already issued an edict to increase rewards.
This is very fast, after all, the journey is long, and even His Majesty is not in Kaiping now, but has gone north to fight against Alibu.
As a result, with the great victory and reward, Longxi was occupied by Li Xia in the blink of an eye.
Shang Ting is very worried that it will affect the war on the East Road...
"Li Xia."
Muttering the name, Shang Ting took out another letter and read it, although he had read it many times in the past few days.
The letter was written by Zhang Wenqian.
After the news of Meng Ge's death came, Zhang Wenqian was the first to go to Henan and other places to investigate whether anyone had colluded with Li Xia.
It was also he who found out the truth about Li Xia's journey north.
——Li Fen’s adviser Wang Wentong took advantage of the Jinlianchuan shogunate’s secret plan and used Yang Guo to test the Song court’s reaction.
It was Zhang Wenqian who discovered the relationship between Zhang Rou and Li Xia, which led to Yao Shu's surrender.
Unexpectedly, after Li Xia went to Lin'an and returned to Hanzhong, his power increased instead of decreasing, and now he has captured Longxi.
Only then did Shang Ting come to his senses and was surprised to find that such a person appeared in the south.
If everyone in the Jinlianchuan shogunate had realized it early, they would have had the opportunity to kill Li Xia...
Hao Jing's disciples were killed and his poems were inscribed on the wall in blood. He should have gone to investigate carefully. However, the Zhang family was secretive and did not tell him the truth in time.
Zhao Bi, who was planning a strategy in Kaifeng, should have discovered something was wrong four years ago. But there was no way. Four years ago, Li Xia was just an unknown person.
Zhang Wenqian should have paid more attention to finding out Li Xia's actions in Henan. But at that time, Zhang Wenqian already valued Li Xia very much. He sent letters to remind Yao Shu, Lian Xixian and Shang Ting.
Yao Shu was busy with his official duties, so he only made some arrangements and stopped paying attention to him. But it can be said that he paid enough attention to him. He offered advice to Zhang Rou to marry his daughter Li Xia, and wrote a letter in his own hand to recruit him. He also expected that if Li Xia did not surrender, he could still borrow Zhao Song's help.
Kill it with your hands.
Lian Xixian was busy quelling the Guanlong Rebellion and did not notice that Li Xia had set up Wang Liangchen. But as soon as he got the news, he was shocked by Li Xia and devoted all his energy to deal with it. Finally, he went to Fengxiang Mansion in person.
It was Shang Ting who, as soon as he was reminded, immediately ordered that "the military must strictly follow the rules to prevent treachery" and prevent Li Xia from sending his spies northward...
Looking back, no one in the Jinlianchuan shogunate made any omissions regarding Li Xia.
And since the death of Mongke Khan, the advisers who are responsible for the affairs of the country have been wary of the young man who was only twenty years old.
The only difference was that everyone was planning a move in their spare time, but no one was using their full strength to deal with Li Xia.
I only hope that Lian Xixian can stabilize the situation in Guanlong this time...
"Shang Gong, Prime Minister Lian is back."
Shang Ting looked up and saw Lian Xixian rushing towards him in a dusty state.
"Shanfu is back?" Shang Ting said with a smile: "By the way, it's time to be called the Prime Minister of Integrity. He will be the Prime Minister before he is thirty. Look at this official letter..."
Lian Xixian strode into the public room, without reading the official document, he whispered something in Shang Ting's ear.
"Liu Yuanli made a surprise attack on Hanzhong and the entire army was wiped out."
Shang Ting's face darkened, but he still calmed down, stopped Lian Xixian's words, and waved away the servant first.
"Although I didn't expect that Li Xia would be able to keep Liu Yuanli and these five thousand people, the situation..."
"The situation is very bad."
Although Lian Xixian was not panicked, he spoke quickly and said: "Liu Heima was defeated."
"Lost? To whom? Are the kings of Liangzhou and the Western Regions supporting Ali anymore?!"
"It's Li Xia. His troops have left the Weihe River."
Shang Ting was surprised and asked: "When did it happen?"
"On the 12th."
"Prime Minister Lian... didn't you joke with me?"
"I also hope that I can still joke with Mr. Shang. The situation is far more serious than Mr. Shang thought. It is too serious."
"Is Fengxiang Mansion still there?"
Only then did Lian Xixian take the official document from Shang Ting's hand and glance at it. He was not surprised by his appointment as the Right Prime Minister of Xingxing Province. He frowned and said, "Fengxiang Mansion is still there."
"That is?"
Lian Xixian seemed a little reluctant to suspect the prince, but he did not dare to delay any longer. He finally said: "Let me tell Shang Gong about my guess. I'm afraid Liu Heima is... trying to surrender Li Xia."
Shang Ting was stunned.
He took two steps back and stared at Lian Xixian's face carefully.
"Shan Fu, you have always been on the safe side. You should know about such important matters and not talk nonsense."
"Liu Heima is a man who protects himself and refuses to fight. I have seen it with my own eyes."
Shang Ting was stunned for a moment and murmured: "The situation...has it reached this point?"
"I just hope that Liu Heima will not rebel, but he can't even..."
After a moment of drowsiness, I woke up with a jolt.
He knew very well what would happen if the 70,000 household marshals who commanded the armies in Xijing, Hedong, and Shaanxi surrendered to the enemy!
This is something that has never happened before in Mongolia.
"Quickly deploy troops to Henan, Shanxi, and Longbei to support..."
Shang Ting strode out quickly.
"Shang Gong!"
Lian Xixian grabbed him and said: "With such a big battle in the north, how can we still have troops to mobilize? If Liu Heima really surrenders, Jingzhao Mansion will not be able to defend it, and Guanzhong will not be able to defend it."
"Then what else can be done? If you can't hold on, you have to hold on."
Lian Xixian sighed and said: "We should withdraw from Jingzhao Mansion as soon as possible with troops, officials, scribes, money and food."
Shang Ting turned to look at Lian Xixian, but there was a trace of doubt in his eyes.
The two have a close relationship, and Shang Ting is a deputy, so he has never looked at Lian Xixian in such a light.
But even in the panic, Shang Ting still retained a clear consciousness.
After all, the stakes were so high that he had to guard against it. What if the defector was Lian Xixian and he wanted to deceive the troops from Guanzhong?
"Please Shang Gong trust me."
Lian Xixian saluted solemnly, summoned Wang Zhichen and several of his soldiers, and detailed some details of the battlefield.
Finally, Shang Ting asked again: "Aren't you going to try to guard Guanzhong again?"
"Let's make preparations for evacuation first." Lian Xixian said: "If Liu Heima surrenders, there is no need to defend."
Shang Ting said: "Not long ago, we shipped a batch of money and grain to the north. At present, your Majesty is raising a large army to suppress the rebellion, so we must not lose sight of Long's important land of wealth."
"That's why there is no need to launch an army with Li Xia. Otherwise, in the end, we will not be able to defend it, but the war in Guanzhong will continue, which will be even more unfavorable in the long run." Lian Xixian touched the beautiful beard on his lips and said slowly.
: "Retreat first. Only by taking a step back when the situation is unfavorable can we preserve the strength to regain Guanzhong later."
"Is there a way to recapture Guanzhong?"
Lian Xixian smiled bitterly and nodded.
"That's fine..."
In terms of strategy, Shang Ting may not be inferior to Lian Xixian, but he is not as familiar with the battle situation as Lian Xixian. After asking carefully at this time, he agreed.
The two of them had worked together for many years and trusted each other, so it took them less than a moment to decide on such a major matter as giving up Guanzhong.
…
In Chang'an that day, first of all, the famous Confucian scholars and students from Jingzhao Academy were escorted onto carriages smoothly, and they crossed the Yellow River eastward and took temporary refuge to Pingyang Prefecture in Shanxi Province.
When Lian Xixian took office, the first thing he did was to ask Xu Heng to promote Jingzhao Fu School.
When preparing to retreat to Guanzhong, the first step was to move to the capital to study.
As he often said, "Educating talents is the fundamental strategy" and "Today's country is rising in Shuomo. If we do not respect the scholars, Confucianism will decline."
People in Song Dynasty probably couldn't understand this kind of thinking.
Only these scholars in the north can feel the weakening of the cultural context and the worry about "the rise of the country in Shuomo".
~~
On July 21, Tanma returned news that the Song army had entered Fengxiang Mansion.
"Liu Heima has indeed surrendered."
"It's so sad." Shang Ting sighed, "I recall that when A Lan Da'er took the test and put you and me in jail, but he was able to control Liu's dark horse... He should have been more loyal."
"Shihou."
Lian Xixian only murmured two words and said no more.
They stood on the east tower of the city and looked outside the city, only to see Wang Zhichen leading the garrison to assemble.
"If you ask Mr. Shang to lead troops to garrison Tongguan, you must exchange Liu Heima's troops with the troops stationed in Henan. Remember this."
"Where's Prime Minister Lian?"
"I will send the remaining troops to Shanxi and Longbei." Lian Xixian said: "The four fortresses in Guanzhong. As long as the passes are still in our hands, Li Xia won Guanzhong, which means he did not get it."
There was a look of deep thought between his brows...
If the world is like a chess game, Li Xia had been preparing for this game for half a year, thinking about how to make every move, taking advantage of Lian Xixian's unpreparedness, taking the initiative and advancing step by step.
Lian Xixian knew that he had lost and could not win.
So he took the initiative to withdraw from Guanzhong, which was equivalent to giving up the losing game first.
Afterwards, while Li Xia was still finishing the game, he began to plan how to proceed in the next game.
This means that the "events" have changed again.
"Then I should win the next game." Lian Xixian muttered to himself, his eyes high and excited again.
In his mind, on the new chessboard, he has already made the first move.
~~
Xi County.
"It's too easy to capture Yicheng." Li Xia rode his horse, looked up at the word "鿃" on the city gate, and shook his head.
"What is our Marshal Li worried about?"
Liu Yuanzhen has recently called Li Xia, and every time he calls each other "our Marshal Li", there is a bit of joking in his tone.
He rode on horseback and asked leisurely: "I'm worried that we might be planning to harm Marshal Li."
Li Xia felt that Liu Yuanzhen was like a woman who surrendered as soon as she surrendered, but pretended to be reserved and insisted on showing an aloof and nonchalant look.
On the contrary, it was Liu Heima and Liu Yuanli who were much calmer. They bowed to Li Xia honestly in front of the soldiers and did as he should because they had no knots in their hearts.
At this time, Li Xia was too lazy to say anything more about this, and said calmly: "No. I was wondering, why didn't Lian Xixian take precautions?"
Liu Yuanzhen pondered slightly and said: "Perhaps he has withdrawn his troops back to Jingzhao Mansion?"
"We'll know when the scout sent to Chang'an comes back."
The two of them were walking side by side. Liu Yuanzhen thought about it again and said with a smile: "Perhaps Mr. Lian saw that our Marshal Li is a good person among men, and he also wants to join him?"
Li Xia shook his head and galloped into Xi County calmly, with only a hundred personal guards behind him.
Because Liu Yuanzhen had already said that he controlled the city, Li Xia could trust him.
"No, he has followed Kublai Khan for ten years. If he surrenders to me like this, his will will be too unstable."
Liu Yuanzhen was slightly embarrassed.
The next moment, Li Xia said directly: "I'm not talking about you, I'm thinking about whether it is possible for Lian Xixian to give up Guanzhong?"
"How can Guanzhong be so easily accessible? Who can give up Guanzhong so easily..."
Liu Yuanzhen shook his head and was ready to talk and analyze the situation.
Li Xia raised his hand to interrupt him and muttered: "If Lian Xixian detects that the Liu family has abandoned the secrets and surrendered to the bright side, and deduces that he is unable to defend Guanzhong, then... take the initiative to evacuate, but he can take advantage of the various messengers sent by Liu Gong before they arrive.
, take away the Liu family’s soldiers and horses.”
When Liu Yuanzhen heard this, his expression changed.
He had never thought of this possibility before.
Subconsciously, I thought Lian Xixian should guard Guanzhong.
Why?
This is a natural reaction.
Lian Xixian was not a coward. Since he was appointed to govern Shaanxi, he had the responsibility to defend the territory. How could he retreat so easily?
However, when Liu Yuanzhen thought about it carefully, he discovered that for Lian Xixian, withdrawing from Guanzhong was indeed the best way.
Liu Heima had sent out messengers yesterday to contact the old departments in various states and counties, preparing to help Li Xia win Guanzhong in one fell swoop.
The marshal of 70,000 households has controlled Shaanxi for nearly 20 years. This prestige cannot be blocked by Lian Xixian.
If Lian Xixian brings these troops to Henan for reorganization...
"This... my military strength..."
Liu Yuanzhen murmured and shook his head again: "Unlikely."
"Why is it impossible?"
"No one dares to make this kind of decision. If Lian Xixian makes this decision, he must have a very clear judgment on the situation and be calm enough to get rid of all kinds of distracting thoughts. He must have the courage to abandon Guanzhong without permission."
Liu Yuanzhen no longer calls him "Lian Gong" because it is his interests that Lian Xixian wants to harm this time.
His tone became more determined, and finally he said: "He won't."
"I originally thought he wouldn't." Li Xia said: "But, you told me, when the news of Brother Meng's death came, he dared not wait for Kublai Khan to summon him, and took the initiative to kill Brother Alibu who was close to him in the army.
General Meng gave the military talisman to Wang Liangchen. This man is extremely calm, courageous and insightful."
Liu Yuanzhen opened his mouth, his face becoming increasingly ugly.
Li Xia added: "If I hadn't spread the news of Meng Ge's death to Liupan Mountain earlier, Lian Xixian would have dared to kill Alan Da'er and Liu Taiping, wouldn't he?"
"My Liu family's military strength..."
"Don't worry, he can't take too much with him. At most he can only take away the garrison near Chang'an. He won't dare to go to Shangzhou. It's too fast."
The reason why Li Xia didn't think beforehand that Lian Xixian would evacuate Guanzhong was because it was too fast.
On the night of July 15th, he met with Liu Heima; on the 16th, the two sides formally reached an agreement; on the 17th, the Song army began to station in Fengxiang; on the 20th, they started to conquer Guanzhong; on the 22nd, they captured Yicheng...
This is as fast as it gets.
If Lian Xixian could still retreat before his army arrived, his calmness, courage and insight would be truly remarkable.
"At the age of twenty-three, will you be declared the emperor of the capital?" Li Xia said to himself.
Liu Yuanzhen was stunned when he heard this emotion.
He suddenly realized how far behind he was compared to Li Xia and Lian Xixian.
In the past, he always thought of himself as a handsome man, but today, after listening to a few words and watching the plot between Li Xia and Lian Xixian, he has completely transcended his level.
"A man who was twenty-three years old was appointed governor of Beijing, and a man who was nineteen years old was commander-in-chief of Sichuan and Shu...Talents are given by heaven...how unfair...unfair..."
－－－－－－Digression－－－－－
There was a leader yesterday, thank you. I was supposed to add an update today, but Kavin was stuck badly, so I’ll move it to tomorrow~~