Chapter 468: Confrontation

As soon as the Tubo envoy went to the hall, he shouted in a rough voice: "With Yu Zhan and a decision, the Han family is always long-winded. I have been here for a month, and you always hide from me. Why is this?"

Zhang Shangying turned to the envoy of the Liao Kingdom and asked kindly: "How could your country come with the envoy of the Tubo Kingdom? What a coincidence!"

When Zhang Shangying asked, he didn't even look at the envoy of the Western Xia. The envoy of the Western Xia appeared indignant expression on his face. The envoy of the Liao Kingdom seemed more elegant than the envoy of the Tubo. He smiled softly and replied softly: "The king of my country planned to mediate the war between your country and the Western Xia, and he has been outside the palace for a month. Such things have never happened before. Could it be that the State of Song that thinks our country can be insulted now?"

Zhang Shangying waved his hand powerlessly and signaled Wang Qinruo to come forward to talk. Wang Qinruo smiled and said loudly: "Our country has sent Tong Guan to your country for missions. Hasn't the mediation already been discussed - we refuse!"

The envoy of the Liao Kingdom smiled faintly and whispered: "This is the moment, and that is the moment!"

The envoy of the Liao Kingdom was reminding the officials of the Song Dynasty: In the past, you rejected the requests of our court, but now it is different. Shaanxi was fighting so fiercely, and Tubo was also starting to move. At this moment, if the Song Dynasty still brutally rejected the mediation request of Liao Kingdom, then the king and ministers of the Liao Kingdom would inevitably think that the Song Dynasty was deliberately despising the Liao Kingdom.

Of course, the reason why the Liao envoys were so active was that mediation was not free. In mediation, on the one hand, they had to reflect their qualifications as the leader of the Central Plains and ordered two subordinate countries that paid tribute to stop fighting each other to reflect their authority. On the other hand, they also wanted to gain benefits through mediation.

Zhang Shangying was silent, and Wang Qinruo also felt it was difficult to answer. He looked outside the palace gate and never prayed so devoutly in his heart: "Hurry up, hurry up, as long as the news arrives as scheduled, I will know how to answer."

In the main hall, the ministers of Song State were sitting upright like wooden sculptures, neither agreeing nor rejecting, as if they had not heard the words of the envoys of Liao State, and as if the envoys of the Three Kingdoms opposite did not exist. The envoys of Tubo were even more arrogant. He rolled up his sleeves and shouted fiercely: "Where should we continue fighting or truce? Please answer immediately, I have not received a reply tonight, and I will leave the capital tomorrow, and then, Song State, wait for our army."

The roar of the Tubo envoy made Xixia's waist harder. He walked to Huang Tingjian's table, looked at Huang Tingjian at close range, and said aggressively: "Huang Xiang, I, Xia people, do what I say, do. We say that we have truce. From then on, we have not added troops to Shaanxi. But the people below don't know the situation. They occasionally crossed the border and offended them, but our king has already punished them. Why is Song's reluctance to do so..."

The envoy of the Liao Kingdom was fanning the flames indifferently: "Speaking of this, the Song Kingdom really looks down on people now. In recent years, the Liao Dynasty has been very angry. Of course, I owe a lot of debts. The king of my country means: Song Xia is temporarily on the verge of war. As for my country's debts, I also ask the Song Kingdom to raise my hands and reduce one or two."

Perhaps Wang Qinruo's prayer had achieved results, and the Privy Councilor Liu Kui rushed into the hall panting. He had just been in charge of the Nanxun Gate of the palace, waiting for the news from outside. At this time, he held a memorial with a spring breeze on his face and a happy face. When he came into the hall, he was about to open his mouth when he found that the envoys of the Three Kingdoms were there. He took a light step, walked to Zhang Shangying's ear and said a few words softly, and then handed the memorial to Huang Tingjian.

Wang Qinruo could not help but put his head next to Huang Tingjian and saw that there was only a short sentence on the memorial: "It is reported that the Grand Master attacked Xingqing Prefecture on the tenth day of March, and the ruler of the Xixia Kingdom rushed to the west."

After reading this short memorial, Wang Qinruo couldn't help but blurt out: "It's just this - so simple, what about the details?"

Huang Tingjian closed the memorial with a motionless expression, and there were three chicken feathers on the cover of the memorial. This is the so-called chicken feather letter. The three chicken feathers mean "eight hundred miles of speed".

Liu Kui pointed at the chicken feather and replied excitedly: "The officer who reported the news said: In order to let the court get the news first, Zhong Jingluo sent him to report the news first, and Shaanxi has other details and then sent it."

Zhang Shangying took over the memorial, first appreciated the feathers posted on the memorial, then cleared his throat and unfolded the memorial.

In the hall, when Liu Kui mentioned the words from Zhong Shizhong and Shaanxi, the envoys of the Three Kingdoms erected their ears. They thought Zhang Shangying cleared his throat to read the memorial, but he didn't expect that Zhang Shangying had no interest in reading it at all. He quickly glanced at the memorial, and handed it to Liu Kui, and answered Wang Qinruo's question: "Although there is little words, this sentence is enough. Any heavy ink and heavy color is not as good as these words. Every word is really huge. We have been waiting for the Marquis of Death for many days, and finally got a good result. From this moment on, the palace ban will be lifted and everyone will be allowed to enter and exit freely."

Huang Tingjian nodded in agreement. Zhang Lei was not polite. He raised his foot and left: "Oh, I have been starving these days. The food in the palace is really bad. I have lost more than ten pounds. I have to go home and make up for it."

After Zhang Lei finished speaking, he walked out of the hall gate regardless of the silence. The envoy of the Western Xia looked at the performance of the court ministers dissatisfied. The envoy of the Liao Kingdom could not bear it anymore. He sternly reminded: "Huang Xiang, Zhang Xiang, we are talking about national affairs. Today, we finally saw someone who could make the decision of the Song Kingdom. Please give us a reply."

Outside the hall gate, a sudden cheer sounded. The envoys of the Three Kingdoms turned around in shock and turned their faces. They found that the faces of the Song ministers they faced were full of uncontrollable joy. They didn't know why and were about to ask. Prince Yan of the Supervisor was panting and bumped into him. He was not as scruple as Liu Kui. As soon as he entered the door, regardless of who was present, he opened his mouth and shouted: "I heard that good news from Shaanxi has come."

Zhang Shangying nodded: "It's finally good news, you can tell the official news."

The King of Yan took a breath and then discovered that the envoy of the Three Kingdoms in the hall had bowed to the envoy of the Three Kingdoms. The envoy of the Tubo returned the gift to the prince in a fashion that always respected the nobles. The envoy of the Western Xia was confused and forgot to return the gift. The envoy of the Liao Kingdom was very hesitant to return the gift. He seemed to think for a moment before he was absent-mindedly.

The King of Yan rushed to say again: "I was at the official family just now, and the official family was painting. When he heard the news from the internal officials, he stopped writing and asked me to ask for the true news."

Zhang Shangying stood up, and he looked at Huang Tingjian with a smile. Huang Tingjian also stood up and stood side by side with Zhang Shangying. The two prime ministers bowed to the envoys of the Liao Kingdom, and Zhang Shangying came forward to answer: "It's so that the king of your country can learn that your country no longer needs mediation, because the Western Xia no longer exists."

The envoy of Xixia looked like earth. He widened his eyes in disbelief. The envoy of Liao Kingdom was at a loss. He replied in a panic: "Don't joke, this kind of big thing is not something you can talk about in the court."

Liu Kui cleared his throat and replied loudly: "On March 10, the Taishi of our country, the Nanyang commander Zhao Xing and Zhao Li, led his army to capture Xingqing Prefecture, and the Xixia king rushed westwards - this is not a joke, but a formal military newspaper."

At this moment, another eunuch ran in panting. He held another military newspaper in his hand and shouted: "Please ask the minister to reply immediately after the follow-up report of the Wuyan Road Trail Master.

Liu Kui took the military newspaper proudly and read aloud: "The pseudo-Xia Left Guard General, Shizhou Jiedushi, the imperial lecturer, the back door palace waiting for Li Mochou to surrender, and the Fuyan Road General Zhuan Shizhong took the opportunity to deal with it. The pseudo-Shizhou Jiedushi has approved the request for surrender, and the court will approve it."

This series of news made the envoys of the Three Kingdoms unbelievable, but looking at the proud expressions of the ministers of the Song Dynasty, as if this was not a joke. They looked at each other and exchanged glances. For a moment, they could not believe the continuous military newspapers of the Song Dynasty.

Zhang Shangying waved his hand and ordered with great enthusiasm: "The edict: I will grant the pseudo-Shizhou Governor's request for surrender, and allow the front-line soldiers to be intercepted at the moment. If there is another similar incident, there is no need to ask the court, the front-line soldiers will deal with it at the moment."

Huang Tingjian nodded and replied in a deep voice: "I attach the signature (name)!"

The palace queen jumped out of Hanlin Zhou Bangyan. He wrote quickly, and Liu Kui also shouted: "The Privy Council - the Privy Council is also attached to the office."

The envoys of the Three Kingdoms below were still unbelievable. Then another eunuch ran in. Liu Kui took the third Shaanxi military newspaper handed over by the other party, and said in a nouveau riche-like tone, "How come the military newspapers in Shaanxi are like shit, one after another, which is unpleasant."

After clearing his throat, Liu Kui unfolded the memorial and read it happily, with a series of laughter mixed in the middle: "Yongxing Army Road, subordinates Fuyan Road... I won't read the signature at the beginning. It's too long-winded. Let's jump to the main text: We have received the exact news. On March 5, the Grand Tutor forced the Heishan Weifu Army Office to surrender; the next day, the Baimaqiang Town Army Office was defeated; the next day, the Keyi Gate was destroyed, the city was destroyed, and the entire army of the Right Chau Shun Army Office was destroyed; around March 10, the Grand Tutor attacked Xingqing Prefecture and slaughtered. The lord of Xixia fled to Helan Mountain, and the dragon cavalry was pursuing."

Before Liu Kui finished reading this memorial, another memorial was passed on. Liu Kui took it, smacked his lips with an unsatisfactory feeling, and continued: "It's Qin Fenglu's military newspaper. It seems that Qin Fenglu has plenty of time. This military newspaper is tedious, but the main content is: Qin Fenglu's current Xixia soldiers are gone, and he is searching hard. There are rumors that he has seen the Taishi patrol fleet on the river. Qin Fenglu plans to carry his troops forward and meet with the Taishi, and specially request the Privy Council to give permission."

The following documents and memorials were like flowing water. A eunuch came in and handed over a notice. As more and more documents, the envoys of the Three Kingdoms gradually believed it - this was no joke. The Song army did break through Xingqing Prefecture. The Xixia soldiers on the south bank of the Yellow River were in chaos. The soldiers could not find their generals, and the generals could not find their soldiers. The entire command system had collapsed.

The envoy of the Liao Kingdom murmured to himself: "First break the Heishan Weifu Army Division, that is the army that set out from Hedong Road... Strange, did the Song army come from the sky? This Taishi Zhao is simply elusive..."

Huang Tingjian cleared his throat and asked the envoy of Liao with kindness: "After the alliance of Chanyuan, our Song Dynasty and Liao abide by the alliance and have peace with each other. Now that our Song Dynasty retakes Lingzhou, your country has become an isolated land in Dongshengzhou on the south bank of the Yellow River. Just now, the envoy talked about the debts of Liao. It is better for the envoy to go back and discuss with the king of Liao and sell the isolated land of Dongshengzhou to us. As for the price... money is easy to discuss, I am the Song Dynasty, and I am not short of money."

The shocked envoy of the Liao Kingdom subconsciously agreed, and Zhang Shangying whispered: "We have just replied to the mediation of the Liao Kingdom. Now that my Grand Marshal Tong Guan is still in the Liao Kingdom, there is no need to discuss this matter anymore. If there is nothing else, please place it."

The envoy of the Liao Kingdom was at a loss. The guards in the hall came over to remind him that he had not felt that he should say goodbye. Instead, the envoy of the Western Xia Kingdom reminded him. The envoy of the Western Xia Kingdom had been listening to the military newspapers of the Song Kingdom with pale faces. At this time, he suddenly rushed to the feet of the two husbands, knelt on the ground, kowtowed repeatedly, and shouted: "I am a fake Xia Countermember, but I don't know the respectful face of the heavenly dynasty of the Supreme Kingdom. I have offended many words. I beg you to forgive me..."

The envoy of the Liao Kingdom sighed involuntarily and subconsciously said: "The Western Xia is dead!"

After saying that, the envoy of Liao Kingdom was startled by his own words. He glanced at the envoy of Tubo and couldn't help but repeat: "The Western Xia is dead!"

The Tubo envoys had long lost their arrogance. He stared at the eunuchs who were flowing in amazement, and followed the words of the envoys of the Liao Kingdom: "The Western Xia is dead!"

After saying this, the Tubo envoy was also startled by his words. He widened his eyes in disbelief, looked at the envoy of the Liao Kingdom, and repeated: "The Western Xia was destroyed, but it was actually destroyed!"

If a country is destroyed and its capital is destroyed, it is not considered exile. There is also a case where the exiled government regained control of the state - the Zhou emperor is. But if the ruling class of a country loses its backbone, it will still perish even if it exists.

The envoy of the Liao Kingdom sighed and walked out of the hall, saying to himself as he walked: "The Song Kingdom is now so powerful that it is terrifying."

The Tubo envoy was still standing in the hall. He shook his head and sighed repeatedly: "Xia fell on the fifteenth day! The powerful Xia Kingdom was actually destroyed within fifteenth day... It turned out that the emperor and ministers of the Song Dynasty closed the palace just to block the news of the mobilization of the army - Xia died on the fifteenth day, which was too unbelievable."

At this time, the envoy of the Western Xia was still kneeling at the foot of the Song Dynasty's prime minister begging. The ministers of the Song Dynasty seemed to enjoy this feeling. The King of Yan looked at the Tubo envoy proudly and ordered arrogantly: "You are the envoy of Tubo, yes, you no longer have the need to seek peace. Qing Tang belongs to the Song Dynasty now, whether to fight or reconcile, that is our business. Return to you, come and pay tribute quickly, otherwise, my army will take it personally."

The Tubo envoys were left with only one who retreated with timidity.

At the Xia Kingdom, at the Tiemen Pass, Zhao Xing and his army were standing on the wall to look at the surrounding terrain. The Tiemen Pass was a gorge with steep cliffs at both ends. The long mountain road meandered through the valley. Wen Xixing followed Zhao Xing, and the Xia Kingdom guard of Tiemen Pass followed behind Wen Xixing.

After looking at the surrounding terrain, Zhao Xing called the captain of Tiemen Pass who surrendered and asked: "This is a large plain, but there is a mountain in Tiemen Pass. The terrain here is dangerous. If the Xia army does not walk from here, where will it go? I think it is easy to bypass this mountain."

The surrendered general at the gate did not answer, and Wen Xixing explained first: "Sir, there will be no other way. The water around is bitter, the salted rice is very heavy, and people can only drink it, but the war horses cannot. The water nearby can only drink Zuomuzawa outside the Tiemen Pass and Wuchi behind the gate. If the army wants to move, they will follow the closest road, so even if they know that Tiemen Pass is not safe, they have to take the risk of taking this road."

Zhao Xing raised the horse whip and pointed to the ridges on both sides of the wall, saying disapprovingly: "It's the era of gunpowder. If I have time, I can bury enough gunpowder on the cliffs on both sides and blow up the ridges on both sides. Without a single soldier, the entire Xia army can be buried in the valley."

"But... it's not possible!" The speaker was Luqiuguan. He was stepping up the stone steps from under the wall and answering as he walked: "Tai Shi, there is news that Xiazhou and the Jianing Army Division have joined forces. Before they could wait for the military horses in Shizhou, they began to move towards the iron gate. According to Zuomurazawa's sentry detectives, traces of Xia army activities have been found near Zuomurazawa."

After a moment of pause, Luqiuguan continued to persuade: "I just heard that the Taiwei was intentionally exploding a cliff and burying the mountain road, but I thought it was not possible - the Taiwei once told us that the 'feudal war'. The war in front of us is a feudal war. Now the situation is clear. The Xia Kingdom is about to perish. In the future, this land will be governed by us. Tiemenguan is the only road leading to Xingqing Mansion within a radius of thousands of miles. Within a thousand miles, only the well water here can be drunk. The Taiwei wants to blow up the mountain ridge and bury this mountain road. How many people will need to be dug again? The Xia Kingdom has not had a large population, so we will blow up and dig it again. It will take too much people's power. If we don't dig this mountain ridge, our people will also take a detour in the future. Isn't it troublesome?"

Zhao Xing waved his whip and sighed regretfully: "If we don't blow up the ridge, our son will use his blood to block the enemy's advance."
Chapter completed!