Yelu Chucai wrote in one hand and held the wine cup in the other. Occasionally he took a few sips and then daubed a few lines on the paper. However, his poetry was not good. He thought hard on the spot for a long time and could only come up with two lines.
"I admire Qu Qu for being at ease in his old age." In the eyes of experts, it seems rough and easy.
There were many literati attending the banquet, and the one sitting at the head of the guest table was Xuan Zhen, the special envoy of the powerful minister Shi Miyuan of the Southern Dynasty.
At this time, many people asked Xuan Zhen to evaluate Yelu Chucai's poems. Xuan Zhen laughed and said: "Of course it is good!"
The garden they were in was newly completed last month. The waterside pavilion where the banquet was held was very high, close to the Yuhe River, and could overlook a large area in the west of Tianjin Prefecture. This garden is part of the entire Tianjin Prefecture construction, perhaps.
In order to make Xuan Zhen, the envoy of the Song Dynasty, feel friendly, many urgent adjustments were made in the last part of the project to make the style more in line with the aesthetics of the scholar-bureaucrats of the Southern Dynasties.
Within the main entrance of the garden, there is a winding path paved with cobblestones. There are strange flowers and stones on the roadside. Two of them have rugged postures. It is said that they are rare masterpieces moved from the Imperial Garden of Central Capital. Between the flowers and stones, there is a gurgling stream.
, there are graceful green trees, and occasionally you can see cloisters and water pavilions hidden among the flowers and trees.
After arriving in Tianjin, Xuan Zhen first visited Yelu Chucai, a loyal minister of the Zhongdu court, and expressed to Yelu Chucai his hope that the navy would send troops to contain the Kaifeng court. Yelu Chucai did not explicitly agree or object, he just
According to the report, Zhou Guogong was on tour in Haizhou, Shandong, and the two families happened to miss each other. Therefore, we had to wait for Zhou Guogong to return before we could make a decision.
Xuan Zhen settled down in Tianjin. In the first few days, he was very anxious and asked about Guo Ning's whereabouts every day. Later, he gradually became relieved.
First, because Xuan Zhen was here, Yelu Chucai moved his office to Tianjin Mansion, and invited Xuan Zhen to attend banquets from time to time, and treated him very politely and gracefully.
For hundreds of years, the Jin people have looked down upon the envoys of the Song Kingdom with arrogance. Even if the Jin Dynasty is now divided, this condescending attitude will be difficult to change. But Yelu Chucai and his cronies do not have this attitude at all.
Their attentiveness to Xuan Zhen was simply flattering.
On the other hand, Xuan Zhen proposed that he wanted to leave the library, go out for a walk and relax. Yelu Chucai also agreed.
Xuan Zhen is an official who is well versed in practical matters and has a very discerning eye. Shi Miyuan asked him to come to the north with the intention of believing in what he heard and seeing what he saw. Once he went out, although the area where he was allowed to move was limited to the docks and docks of Tianjin Prefecture
He still saw many things for several miles around the museum.
He saw that on the low-lying saline-alkali land on both sides of Lushui, platform foundations several miles wide were being built, and large pieces of stone were being transported to lay the corridors. On the huge platforms, there were tall palaces and buildings, and neatly arranged buildings.
Although the continuous houses and Xuan Zhen cannot be clearly understood, they must be various buildings with clear functional planning.
Just looking at these specifications from a distance, you can tell that Duke Zhou pursued perfection and considered everything carefully in order to build his own domineering mansion.
Although I can't get close enough to take a closer look, I can roughly estimate that the entire project is almost the same as King Hailing's construction of Daxing Mansion in Zhongdu and the restoration of Kaifeng Mansion in Nanjing.
During the reign of King Hailing, Dajin was powerful for a while, with a vast territory, and it relied on force to plunder the people, so that it could build those majestic cities. How does Guo Ning's power and foundation compare to King Hailing?
?
With this idea in mind, Xuan Zhen paid special attention to the many construction projects of the Ding Navy in the next few days. As expected, he discovered many large-scale construction sites one after another, and a huge number of civilians were working on them.
When Prime Minister Shi summoned his cronies for a secret discussion, many of them felt that Jia She, the newly appointed envoy to Huaidong, had close relations with merchants, which would help the Song Dynasty understand the internal affairs of the Zhongdu court. Jia She also often reported that Guo Ning
Ambitious, he opened a military academy in Tianjin and trained naval forces, so that his income and expenditure relied heavily on maritime trade.
Now it seems that Guo Ning does more than just the military academy and navy?
A regime that has just controlled half of the Jin Kingdom and has not yet established its position has invested so much manpower and material resources in a remote seaport; and this half of the country has been repeatedly destroyed by the fierce Black Tartars, how much oil and water can be squeezed out?
Yang Chengzhi, who often accompanied Xuan Zhen on trips, was quite proud of this. He often explained to Xuan Zhen that this is the port, this is the shipyard, this is the military fortress, that is the workshop, that is the school, that is the bridge, and there are centuries-old things everywhere.
's grand plan.
A century-old plan? Isn’t it a joke?
When Ying Zheng built the Great Wall and Emperor Yang of Sui Dynasty dug the canal, they all thought it was a century-old plan. But what was the result?
If we say it too much, Emperors Sejong and Zhangzong of the Jin Dynasty spent countless people to build the so-called northern boundary trench, which was a century-old plan. Where is the boundary trench now? Where are the hundreds of thousands of troops stationed in the boundary trench?
Xuan Zhen really disagreed with this approach. But it was very beneficial to the Song Dynasty.
During several subsequent outings, Xuan Zhen made insinuating inquiries to many of the accompanying officials and literati. At first they talked about him, but then they were less than affectionate and said a few cryptic words to each other.
It turns out that Zhou Guogong Guo Ning was born in the grass, had an impatient temper, and acted vigorously and resolutely no matter what he did. He also wanted immediate results for his subordinates, which is why his Dinghai regime rose so quickly.
But after he took control of the Zhongdu court, he still acted like this. Whatever he thought of, he would do it. He didn't understand the principle of governing a big country like cooking small dishes. Therefore, the ministers responsible for government affairs were often overwhelmed. As for maintaining financial plans,
, it is even more difficult.
In this way, Xuan Zhen made his judgment clearer.
Last year, news came from Kaifeng that Zhongdu was in urgent need of grain and supplies, and that was true. Prime Minister Shi once gave instructions to stop the smuggling of grain to the north, which indeed brought great trouble to the Zhongdu court.
In the year since then, the Zhongdu court of the Jin Kingdom has been deliberately managing its relationship with the Song Dynasty, trying to achieve secret cooperation with the Song Dynasty in various ways. They sought the copper coins of the Song Dynasty and the grain of the Song Dynasty.
, for this reason, they did not hesitate to win over officials of the Song Dynasty privately and set up trading houses specifically for maritime trade.
why is that?
Because of the coexistence of the East and the West, Guo Ning could not openly surrender to the Song Dynasty. He had to maintain his strength against the Song Dynasty in order to continue to claim to be orthodox. However, he had to rely on maritime trade to maintain the naval power.
With such a huge army and huge expenses, without the financial resources from the sea, he could not sustain his seemingly raging situation for a day, let alone go further and usurp the throne of the Jin Kingdom.
If the Song Dynasty's financial resources were instead invested in the battlefield with Kaifeng, it would definitely affect the trade with Zhongdu, which Zhongdu would never like to see.
If the Song Dynasty suffered heavy losses in the fight with Kaifeng, it would either turn to Kaifeng, or the whole court would become angry and mobilize troops. This would also affect the trade with Zhongdu, which Zhongdu would not like to see either.
From the standpoint of the Zhongdu court, I hope that the Song Dynasty will remain stable, that the Prime Minister will always be in control of the situation, and maintain a tacit understanding with the Duke of Zhou in the north. This will allow Guo Ning to invest in those century-old plans in Zhongdu and suppress them step by step.
imperial power.
So, when the Song Dynasty needed the Zhongdu court to send troops to contain Kaifeng, could they refuse?
After all, we are not asking them to raise an overwhelming army to fight against Kaifeng, it is enough to contain them!
Eating food from the sea and holding money from the sea, how could they have any reason to refuse Song's request?
In the following days, Xuanzhen and Yelu Chucai had several banquets, and while they were drinking, they made inquisitive inquiries, which made them more and more certain about this conclusion. So he specially sent people to hire a small boat to go out of the harbor, and headed straight to Dinghai as quickly as possible to take this.
The situation was reported to the Prime Minister in a secret letter, and he was asked to order Huainan, Jingxi and other parties to go all out to resist the Jin army. Never give in, and don't worry about the deterioration of the war situation.
In the secret letter, Xuan Zhen asserted that although Guo Ning had not yet met, the general situation of the Dinghai Navy was such that it could not be changed at all. They would soon respond to the Song Dynasty's request and send troops to contain Kaifeng. As long as they were on Hebei West Road or Daming
The government mobilized 10,000 to 20,000 men and horses, and with a little momentum, the Jin army that invaded Huainan and Jingxi military prefectures from Kaifeng had only one way to retreat.
From then on, the Kaifeng court was suppressed by the east and south, and there was no possibility of rash action. If the Zhongdu court wanted to fight against Kaifeng, it could not do without the financial support from the Song Dynasty, and it could not do without the blood transfusion of maritime trade, and the Song Dynasty
With a huge navy and maritime trade management methods that have been maintained for hundreds of years, it is enough to take the initiative!
The only difference is one thing.
That was when Guo Ning would meet him and decide to send troops.
This kind of delayed appearance was a common method used by Song and Jin Dynasties when hiring envoys to communicate. In the early years, some envoys from Song Dynasty were detained for more than a year.
Guo Ning has not sent troops, so the Song Dynasty has been entangled with the Kaifeng Jin Army on the long front in Huainan, west of Beijing and other places. More than a dozen military states have been devastated by the war. This is the weakness of the Song Dynasty. Obviously, China
Everyone wants to make a fuss about this weakness.
Xuan Zhen told himself not to be anxious.
No matter how weak the Song Dynasty was in terms of military force, it would not be without the power to fight back. Since Zhongdu cannot do without sea trade, they may come out to talk today, maybe tomorrow, sooner or later! Maybe Guo Ning has already arrived in Tianjin
The government can come forward at any time!
Thinking of this, Xuan Zhen was distracted for a moment, but he was encouraged by Yang Chengzhi, who was accompanying him, and composed two poems in succession. He was a doctor of Taixue in the Southern Dynasties, and had served as a housekeeper, and his level of poetry and prose was far beyond
He surpassed the ordinary scholars in the North, so he was highly praised by everyone.
Yang Chengzhi toasted to him with admiration, and Xuan Zhen had a good drinking capacity. He drank three glasses in a row, and everyone cheered again.
Xuan Zhen smiled slightly, put the wine cup back on the table, cleared his throat, and waited for words. Suddenly he heard the sound of galloping horses hooves in the distance of the quiet garden, and it kept getting closer. He calmed down, looked around, and saw
Someone on the outside of the corridor dismounted and whispered to the official on duty at the door.
After hearing the words, the official's expression suddenly became solemn, and he immediately led the man to walk along the corridor. The figure passed through the flowers and trees one after another, and when he reappeared, he had already gone around to the back of the banquet venue, separated by a green gauze.
He bowed to Yelu Chucai, who was sitting at the head of the table.
Yelu Chucai looked drunk at first, but when he saw the knight arriving, his drunkenness faded away and his expression became serious. Without bothering to apologize to everyone at the table, he stood up directly and moved to the back of the Bisha cabinet.
Because of Shaluo's obstruction, Xuan Zhen couldn't see clearly the appearance of the knight. He could only vaguely see him kneeling on one knee and presenting a document. After Yelu Chucai read it, he held the document and returned directly to Shuixie.
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He did not sit down, but stood in the middle of the waterside pavilion.
Xuan Zhen asked with a smile: "Qing Jin, it's time to compose music and recite poems. You look like this, are you doing business? Come on, I will drink three drinks as a penalty according to the rules."
After saying this, there was no response.
Yelu Chucai opened the document, looked at it again, and then said in a deep voice: "The person who just sent the letter is a gold-medal gentleman. According to the system of our dynasty, he has a gold medal as a certificate, and he can start a day and night tour at the delivery shop.
An urgent delivery from hundreds of miles away. This golden gentleman set out from Haizhou, and it took him two days to kill four good horses, and only then did he get the news about my lord in time."
Xuan Zhen's drunkenness faded for the most part, and he quickly asked: "What's the news?"
"Your country has been fighting fiercely with the puppet troops in Huaidong, Jingxiang and other places for more than a month, right?"
"Yes, my army in the Song Dynasty is well-prepared and can defend itself. However, Xianggong Shi did not want to see the lives of people in ruins, so he asked me to make a special trip to the north to help you send troops to respond to the situation in the south."
"My lord has agreed, no, he has already sent out troops."
Xuan Zhen was overjoyed, but did not show it on his face, but nodded reservedly.
He poured himself a cup of wine and continued to ask: "Thank you for your kindness! But I don't know how many troops you sent? Where are the troops? Is the battle going well?"
"I have learned that the first batch of our army to be mobilized this time is from the three commanders Luo Chongwei, Guo Zhongyuan, and Yin Chang, as well as the command of Marshal Zuo Jianjun Liu Erzu, with a total of 40,000 horses; the second batch is also
We will send out the troops of Zhao Jue, Han Xuan, and Shi Tianni, as well as the Mongolian Mongolia and Liaodong Jurchens, totaling 35,000 troops."
So many troops? Such a big deal? Doesn't Guo Ning love the Song Dynasty too much? Do they have so much food and supplies?
Many questions suddenly popped up in Xuan Zhen's mind, and these doubts were answered in Yelu Chucai's subsequent words.
"At this moment, our army has captured Xuzhou, Caozhou, Shanzhou, Guide Prefecture and other places. The gates of Kaifeng are wide open and can be conquered soon. Thanks to your side, you have sent out a large army to continue to contain the rebellious soldiers in Kaifeng in Huaidong, Jingxiang and other places.
Ma, our army's war situation is going very smoothly. Hopefully, we can finally put an end to the puppet dynasty and restore the territory of Dajin. By then, we will definitely send envoys to Lin'an to solemnly thank you for your help."
As soon as the old problems are gone, new ones arise.
What restraint? Who is restraining? Who helped whom, and who should thank whom?
Xuan Zhen was silent for a moment, then raised his head and asked: "The many constructions here in Tianjin, as well as the situation where money and food have been tight and the maritime trade supply is urgently needed, are they all fake? Are they made specially for us to see?"
"The construction is real, but there is no rush to complete it. Money, food, and military supplies are indeed scarce, but with the transfer from Goryeo, Liaodong, Hebei, and Shandong, and the command of capable ministers who are proficient in general affairs, we can always squeeze out some military supplies.
It's not that it's difficult. Moreover, this is not just for you, but mainly for the Jurchens in Zhongdu... In the past six months, many Jurchens in Zhongdu have fled, and it is just right for them to inform Kaifeng of the situation.
Puppet DPRK, let them feel more at ease."
Yelu Chucai bowed slightly to Xuan Zhen and said apologetically: "As a matter of fact, soldiers are not afraid of deceit, and they do not deliberately deceive their subordinates. Bachelor, please don't blame me."
Xuan Zhen let out a long breath. He stood up and wanted to leave the waterside pavilion immediately to show his dissatisfaction, but he didn't dare.
When he hesitated, Yelu Chucai once again took up his pen and wrote dozens of official documents. He also took out his own gold-medal talisman and sent people with the talisman to rush around to deliver orders. Obviously, these official documents were of extremely high standards.
But those who conveyed the order all shouted loudly and signed up to receive the order.
A dozen knights holding official documents rushed everywhere, attracting the response of dozens of people, and even hundreds of officials; these hundreds of officials continued to rush to the yamen under their jurisdiction, immediately triggering the rapid action of the personnel stationed in hundreds of yamen.
Xuan Zhen stood in the waterside pavilion and looked out. He could see that as far away as Liukou and other places, there were cavalry, convoys and a large number of soldiers and civilians rushing out of countless camps and buildings. In less than half a moment, every road within sight
On the road, teams of baggage transportation began to appear. And as time went by, the size of these queues became larger and larger.
How many drills would it take to respond so quickly? How much preparation would it take? Xuan Zhen simply couldn't imagine it.
In the waterside pavilion, Yelu Chucai's voice became louder and louder:
"In addition to the two troops and horses that directly take Kaifeng, we have also prepared a third group of troops and horses that are responsible for sweeping Hebei West Road and Damingfu Road from north to south. The baggage is all transported by Tianjin Prefecture. This group includes Li Ting, Miao Dao
Run, Zhang Rou, Shi Tianying, Yelu Ke and Ba Baer's troops totaled 50,000 people. They divided their troops into two wings, captured Zhending and Daming, then went south to defend and dredge, and finally threatened Kaifeng from the north!"
"Kaifeng imperial court? East and west two gold? What a joke!" Yelu Chucai patted his hands and said in a deep voice: "We used 125,000 people! After this battle, everyone in the world will know that there is only one person in the world.
There is only one imperial court in the Great Jin Kingdom!"
Xuan Zhen smiled and wanted to say something nice about the scene. But he saw blue sky, white clouds, and bright sunshine, but he felt groggy at home and could hardly stand still.