Let us also say that after Wang Bolong died in the battle, the Jin army was shaken up and down, their morale was depressed, and they even wanted to avoid war. Therefore, long before Gao Qingyi came to see Wu Shu, the high-level military meeting at noon had already included various discussions from a military perspective.

For example, those who support sending heavy troops south are not the only ones who suggest attacking Tokyo. There are also people who suggest marching thousands of miles to attack Shaanxi and Luo, cutting off the logistics of Zhao Guan's family in Hedong... Of course, compared to the intuitiveness and simplicity of the former, the latter is just

It's a bit confusing, because not to mention that half of Hedong's logistics is in Guanzhong and half in Shaanluo, nor does it say what impact the thousands-mile attack on Shaanluo will have on its own logistics. I only say that if that is the case, control it.

The Song army at Zhiguanxing and with a large number of cavalry on the Hedong side directly abandoned Taiyuan and returned to the army. What if they in turn surrounded the Jin army?

All I can say is that we sent here south, but fortunately no one said that the entire army was going to attack Jinan.

Of course, going south with heavy troops, whether it is to attack Tokyo or go directly to Shaanxi and Luo to defeat the Song army and Hedong logistics, is to seek victory southward, and in essence it is also a gamble.

The bet is on mobile warfare capabilities, which will test the Jin Army's own logistical supplies; the bet is on whether the weather will give the Jin Kingdom face, because once the ice period is over, the Song Army Navy hidden in the base of the Yuancheng base camp will

They will swarm out and control the Yellow River with an absolute advantage; the bet is on the determination of Yue Fei and Zhao Song's official family, because at present, Yue Fei is likely to have stored a large amount of military supplies in his camp, and the direction to the east of the river is

Simply have two supply directions at the same time. Whether the so-called encirclement of Wei and rescue of Zhao can be successful depends mostly on whether the two top commanders will be shaken by the situation.

In addition, how many troops should be sent south and how many troops should be left to monitor Yue Fei has now become a difficult problem.

There are factions going south, and naturally there are factions going north, and those going north also have two opinions. One is to suggest retreating to Zhending Prefecture and Hejian Prefecture, and building a defense line on the spot to block Jingxing and so on; the other is to suggest

He went back to rescue Taiyuan and took advantage of the gap where the Song army on the east side of Hedong had to attack the Queshu Valley road. He gathered heavy troops in Taiyuan and fought a decisive battle with the Song army.

Going north here feels a bit like a broken pot... Going to Zhending is almost equivalent to giving up Yuancheng and Taiyuan directly, and when it comes to the decisive battle with the Song army in Taiyuan, no matter how you look at it, you can go there.

After arriving in Taiyuan, the military strength is maximized, but the Song army also has more troops on the east side of Hedong, okay? And what if Yue Fei breaks through Yuancheng quickly and catches up from behind?

As for staying here, it still seems to be an option, and many people indeed hope to reorganize the attack, but isn't this because the attack has been frustrated and the morale of the military has been shaken? Therefore, we must first restore the morale of the military.

However, these plans are only discussing military affairs, analyzing the pros and cons from a military perspective, and they are only military considerations for short-term actions in the next stage, which would be detrimental to the long-term.

In this regard, Wanyan Wushu, who was able to make the decision, was keenly aware that these plans were just superficial disputes, even if he was almost killed by Wang Bolong. These things alone could not allow him to control everything on the front line.

The ruling prince made a decision.

So Gao Qingyi appeared.

Gao Qingyi's personal purpose was undoubtedly to persuade Wanyan Wushu to continue trying to rescue Yuancheng.

But this did not prevent him from laying out the order of things for Wu Shu... Specifically, this person came over to remind Wanyan Wushu that it was necessary to calculate political accounts at the same time as military accounts.

Consider people's hearts and regional ethnic politics; secondly, it warned Wanyan Wushu militarily that the situation is already very bad. If we really want to fight a decisive battle, we must try to lengthen the Song Army's supply line and shorten our own logistics.

line, and the Yanyun New Army must be allowed to join the battle.

In a word, you can bet, but since you want to bet, you must change your thinking, unite all the forces that can be united, and then press all the forces together at the most suitable place!

Don't even bet in the wrong direction, or even bet separately.

With this idea, Wu Shu, who was originally a little confused, finally regained his clarity and quickly made a decision... The logic is very simple, and it basically follows Gao Qingyi's intention... In order to ensure that Shang Shang will be prepared when necessary

In order to ensure that the decisive battle can be launched in a place that is conducive to its own logistics supplies, the location must be in the north. Because of this, the plan to go south has to be rejected.

After giving up the plan to go south, in order to maintain the morale of the army, we cannot just leave and return to the rear. The best plan at the moment seems to be to continue to encourage the morale of the army and continue to try to attack Yue Fei.

And to be honest, the loss of ten thousand households is certainly shocking, but to cause chaos and change the original strategy just because of this is an act to stir up chaos.

Having made up his mind, Wu Shu introduced Gao Qingyi as his direct supervisor and discussed with Ba Lisu. After the two sides exchanged opinions, Ba Lisu obviously also recognized Wu Shu's judgment... In fact, Ba Lisu

He also hopes to continue to maintain his strategic plan, rather than completely change course after just one failure.

This was already evident from his insistence on attacking that day and his priority today of appeasing the morale of the troops.

Now that the two have reached an agreement, the next step is to vigorously stimulate and restore military morale.

First, as marshal, Ba Lisu ordered the opening of military supplies inventories, including those in surrounding counties, and generously rewarded the lower-level soldiers.

Immediately, Wei Wang Wushu personally came forward and overcame the public opinion, and promoted some of the Han'er supplementary officers who had performed well in the previous battles to Marching Meng'an and Mouke, and many officers who were originally Meng'an Mouke were directly promoted

Obtained the status of hereditary Muke. The marching silver medal was issued on the spot, the hereditary documents were written out on the spot, and then sent to Yanjing in front of everyone.

The morale of the army was suddenly lifted and gradually recovered.

Of course, these things alone are destined to take three or four days, and then, it seems that the attack will have to be reorganized, and even troops will need to be recruited again.

In a daze, no one cared that it was already the second half of the twelfth lunar month, and the New Year could be counted on their fingers.

The next year, from the perspective of Song people, will be the tenth year of Jianyan, but from the perspective of Jin people, it will be the fifth year of Huangtong... However, no one knows whether Lianghe will be in Jianyan or Huangtong next year.

Unified.

Time goes back to the day when Gao Qingyi persuaded King Wushu of Wei with his sharp words. Just when the Jin army was still overwhelmed by the death of Wang Bolong in the battle, from the east side of Hedong, the Niugao tribe under Li Yanxian took the lead and captured Yangliang Beiguan.

And this time is actually four or five days later than the worst-case scenario that Ba Lisu expected.

In other words, the Song Army on the Hedong side did not perform any miracles, nor did they stretch their legs. Instead, they steadily penetrated the Queshu Valley at an ordinary speed that everyone expected... It took about four days.

More than ten days.

As for the process, it was lackluster.

From the Jin Army's point of view, they have implemented the arrangements they made before leaving. In addition to defending Yangliang Nanguan, Beiguan, and Lingshi City in the middle, they also set up camps at many dangerous points along the valley.

Resist at all levels, and once frustrated, retreat without hesitation, just to delay, not to defeat the enemy.

For the Song Army, the entire process was a saturated attack mode.

There are artillery carts. The Zhao Guan family personally issued an order and asked Mei Qu, a bachelor, to supervise the construction of a batch of small, lightweight artillery carts, and the key is the standardized size of the accessories. Then they added wheels and used animal power for traction. From then on. Starting from Yangliang Nanguan, these artillery carriages were constantly being depleted and replenished at the same time to ensure that they continued to function.

At the same time, in response to the surrender of the Han army, the rebels who were familiar with the terrain crossed the trails to attack the rear, and the frontal troops carried out night attacks, fire attacks, and strong attacks, including the Poxi army climbing high and firing small crossbows based on camels. The proper tactics were also All available.

Various methods, coupled with the fact that the Song army could rely on its superiority in military strength, took turns to fight day and night, followed the Fenshui River all the way north, steadily opened up the Queshu Valley, broke through two passes, and captured Lingshi City.

Of course, in the past forty days, Zhao Guan's family was not just fishing... He and his husband Lu Yihao, who was accompanying the army, were stationed in Xiangling and Linfen, across the Fen River. They still needed to appease the people, establish logistics stations, and participate in decisions about the rear. The front lines are busy with their own affairs.

"What pattern is woven on this carpet?"

At noon that day, at the same moment when Niu Gao entered Yangliang Beiguan, in the narrow and cramped Xianglingcheng County Government Hall at the foot of Gushe Mountain, Zhao Guanjia suddenly raised an interesting question in public.

When the official said something, the people below naturally wanted to respond, so everyone was in a hurry and quickly circled around the luxurious and overly large red Persian carpet on the floor of the hall, trying to tell the difference.

Soon, the lions and antelopes facing each other on the top of the carpet were immediately recognized. Among the four plants below, roses, rose bushes and other flowers and palm trees were of course quickly recognized. They are native to northern China and the Central Plains.

However, no one dares to draw conclusions about the remaining two plants with obvious characteristics, which are also a kind of flower and a kind of tree.

"Guan family." Scholar Fan Zongyin, who is well-read in poetry and books, raised his hand in response. "This tree looks very much like a lacquer tree, but the fruit specially displayed on it is really puzzling..."

Zhao Jiu immediately looked at the scholar Mei Yue.

Plum Oak did not dare to neglect, and immediately put his hands to each other: "Reporting to the official, I really don't recognize this tree, but I have some guesses about the nuts in the basket under the tree... As I expected, this should be a specialty of Persia. A kind of sumac-like nut, called pistachio, is moist, oily and crispy inside, and is fragrant when chewed. It is a specialty of Persia... However, this nut is easily affected by moisture. Once it gets damp, it is easy to become moldy. Therefore, in the southeast port, only It is seen occasionally, but it is not sold as goods. Moreover, it is said that this tree likes the sun very much and is only grown in the mountains of Persia. Once transplanted, it will never have such fruits."

"If you say this, it is really the orange of Huainan and the tangerine of Huaibei." Fan Zongyin sighed loudly. "It is not that there are no relatives in the lacquer tree, but it is Pistacia chinensis... The bitterness of Pistacia chinensis is famous all over the world, but unexpectedly it turned into a fragrance in Persia. of pistachio.”

Zhao Jiu nodded slowly, of course he knew what it was... pistachio, but pistachio actually belongs to the same genus as Pistacia chinensis, both of which are a kind of sumac, which can be considered a great experience.

"What about this last flower?"

After nodding, Zhao Jiu continued to sit in front of the carpet and asked.

"Maybe this is just a purple-red flower that is common in Persia..." Fan Zongyin responded with a chuckle. "Flowers are so common. There are tens of millions of flowers in the world, so it is not necessarily necessary to distinguish them clearly."

As soon as these words came out, Mei Querk, who had originally wanted to explain, found it difficult to speak.

"This is the Persian red flower." Seeing this, Zhao Jiu finally sat there and said helplessly. "It is one of the most famous specialties of Persia, the purple flower and the red flower. The most precious one is the red flower, which is both a gynecological sacred medicine and a medicine.

Top spices, good for health... So although the flowers are white or purple, they are called safflowers. The best safflowers can be exchanged for gold of equal weight."

Fan Zongyin was embarrassed for a moment.

Fortunately, Zhao Jiu ignored him and looked directly at the person next to the carpet in the hall: "Xiao Qing, Dashi Linya has invaded the Kara Khanate and seized three thousand miles of land, leading directly to the river. Now you are giving me a gift.

There is no reason to only send Persian carpets but not Persian red flowers, right?"

The man immediately saluted respectfully, then raised his head and smiled, but his words were full of Hebei Han accent: "The officials are joking. Since the foreign ministers are offering Persia and special products from the river as tribute to the officials, how can they not offer Persian red flowers?"

As he spoke, this Xiliao official, who was obviously a Xiren, picked through the pile of gifts behind him, then took out a box and responded respectfully: "So that the officials know that my king sent troops last year and will go to the army this year."

It took half a year to conquer the Kara Khanate, cut off its north and attached its south to the river. The most precious tributes collected this year were nothing more than three kinds: eighty-four pounds of Persian red flowers and ten pounds of green jade.

Three boxes, twenty-four Persian carpets, and my king did not dare to be tyrannical at all. The tributes to the officials were all of the highest quality, and they all took half of them. All the green jade stones were sent to the officials to express their respect... This

One box is exactly one pound."

With that said, the man carefully handed the wooden box in his hand to an eunuch, but it turned out to be Shao Chengzhang, one of the three guards in the eunuch province.

Shao Chengzhang took it and opened it in front of everyone in the hall. Sure enough, he saw a whole box of dried Persian safflower styles, which were crystal red and pungent. He couldn't help but be amazed.

Zhao Jiu immediately laughed: "When the envoy returns, he might as well tell your family, Dashi Linya, that I am very grateful for his sincerity and know what he really wants, but those things are definitely not something that can be bought with treasures... and vice versa.

He said, as long as the two countries are in harmony and civilization is integrated, then the road to the west will be clear, and silk will go west to replace it. Why should he search all over the world to send it to me? Of course, if Dashi Linya next time

Send more seeds, and I will be happy to see the Persian skills come to fruition."

The messenger felt a little moved in his heart, but when the gift was half-delivered, it was difficult to discuss the formal topic directly, so he immediately put his hands up, smiled, and agreed again and again.

Zhao Jiu didn't care when he saw this, and just made the distribution: "Okay, twelve Persian carpets, the largest one will be sent to Qingzhou Zhang Dutong (Zhang Jun), and then Tokyo Lu Gongxiang (Lv Haowen)

One is for King Han Jun (Han Shizhong) on ​​the front line, and one is for Lu Xianggong (Lu Yihao) in Fen City facing Fen River. The other eight are placed in Wende Hall, Jiying Hall, Mi Pavilion, Gong Pavilion, and Du Sheng respectively.

The Privy Council...well, there are also Taixue and Martial Arts."

The guard, Shao Chengzhang, was at the side, and he quickly held the box of red flowers and said yes.

"As for the forty-two boxes of Persian red flowers..." Zhao Jiu looked at the red flowers in Shao Chengzhang's arms, thoughtfully. "The three queen mothers, noble concubines, and virtuous concubines in the palace each have a box, and all the ministers and handsome ministers
To be continued...