Poor Family Chapter 867

  Chapter 867 Forced to negotiate

When the sky was bright, all the food, grass and military supplies filled with more than 800 skin rafts disappeared in the Yellow River, and thousands of soldiers died in the Yellow River together. Some soldiers grabbed the sheepskin bags and swam to the shore, becoming The lucky ones who were attacked by the Song Army's water ghosts this time.

Thousands of Xixia soldiers stood on the shore, staring blankly at the circling leather rafts on the water. All the rafts were broken at the bottom, and the supplies fell into the Yellow River. In just over an hour, 200,000 shi of grain, including All supplies were lost.

The incident of the Yellow River material falling into the water became the last straw that overwhelmed Xixia. It is not realistic to use war to support war. Unless Xixia completely plundered the cattle and sheep of the Qiang people, they would not be able to rely on the food of the Han people in Xihe Road to feed the army. The consequences of people, cattle and sheep are also very serious, which means that Xixia will not be able to gain a foothold even if it seizes Xihe Road. This is the national policy of Xixia to win over the Qiang people and plunder the Han people.

The food and materials transported by Xixia were also destroyed by the Song army. The food of the Xixia army could only last for ten days at most. Brother Richard had no choice but to order the withdrawal of the army to the north. This was not just his intention. Before that, the emperor The army has been ordered to withdraw to the north twice to deal with the crisis in Xiping Mansion.

Brother Li Cha was reluctant to part with the large tracts of land he occupied, so he insisted on not retreating, but now that there is no food supply, he has no choice but to retreat, but even if he retreats, he still has 10,000 troops occupying Lanzhou and Huizhou. If he retreats completely, Brother Li Cha was really unwilling.

As the Xixia army retreated northward, Li Yanqing also gave up the idea of ​​​​occupying Xiping Mansion, but ordered Zhang Wei to guard the front line of Weicheng and Tajiazhai. Li Yanqing was not too greedy in Xixia, but left 8,000 people to guard Weicheng—— After stepping on the three strategically important areas such as Gaegezhai-Shangyikou, he led the other troops to retreat. As for Baimachuan, Xiazhou and other places where Xixia troops were empty, he gave up without hesitation.

  Li Yanqing knew very well that their real enemy at this stage was the Kingdom of Jin, not Xixia. Only by stabilizing Xixia could they devote themselves wholeheartedly to the great cause of fighting against Jin.

  In early September, Jiao Yanjian, Shangshu of the Western Xia Dynasty, came to Jingzhao Mansion as Li Qianshun's special envoy, and negotiated with Li Yanqing about the withdrawal of troops and the exchange of people.

   "Dutong, this Li Qianshun is very pragmatic. He directly sent people to Jingzhao to negotiate with Dutong."

The person who spoke was Bo Tangkai, since Mo Jun became the magistrate of Pingjiang, Li Yanqing has been short of a capable staff member, Zhong Shidao recommended his staff Tang Kai to him, and Li Yanqing appointed Tang Kai as the manager As the master of the mansion, Tang Kai has a good eye for people and is a native of Jingzhao Mansion, so Li Yanqing also listens to his advice more often.

  Li Yanqing nodded with a smile, "That being said, we still need to contact the imperial court in time, report to the officials, and obtain authorization from the officials before we can start negotiations with Xixia."

  Beside Wang Gui put down his tea bowl and said, "Don't the officials trust Dutong? They obey Dutong's words."

When Wang Gui said this, he meant something. When Li Yanqing entered the Jingzhao Mansion, he wrote a letter to the emperor Zhao Gou, suggesting that Du Chong, the Governor of Kaifeng, should be transferred away, and Zong Ze should be appointed as the left-behind governor of Tokyo and the governor of Kaifeng. Zhao Gou immediately approved Li Yanqing's memorial. Please, transfer Du Chong back to Lin'an to serve as Minister of Taichang Temple.

Li Yanqing also suggested that Li Gang should go to Jingxi Road as a pacifier and sit in Shandong. Zhao Gou also followed suit and approved Li Yanqing's suggestion. The people of the two roads in the west of Beijing defended against the invasion of the Jin soldiers.

  It was these two suggestions that made all the court officials think that Li Yanqing was favored, and Wang Gui certainly thought that there was no need to waste time and effort to report to the emperor.

Tang Kai next to him smiled and said: "General Wang, although it takes time to report to the emperor, this matter cannot be passed over to the emperor. After all, it is a negotiation between countries. It is actually a kind of arrogance for us to negotiate without the authorization of the emperor." Li Qianshun sent Jiao Yanjian directly to Jingzhao Mansion to negotiate with Dutong, and he may not have ulterior motives to provoke the relationship between Dutong and the officials. At this time, we need to calm down, and don't let the imperial court take advantage of Dutong."

  Wang Gui quickly waved his hand, "I'm just making a casual suggestion, don't ask me such brain-intensive matters, you decide for yourself."

Li Yanqing then said to Tang Kai: "You go and receive Jiao Yanjian well, I won't show up, tell Jiao Yanjian, please wait patiently, at most ten days, the imperial court's authorization letter will arrive, if he really can't wait, then he can also go to Lin'an negotiation."

   "I understand the humble position, so let's go to receive Jiao Yanjian."

  Li Yanqing instructed again: "Remember, no matter what suggestions Jiao Yanjian puts forward, you should not answer them, just say that you need the court's attitude, and don't be misled by him."

   "The humble job knows it well, please rest assured!" Tang Kai saluted and hurried away.

  Li Yanqing sat down and took a sip of tea, then smiled and said to Wang Gui: "What do you want from me?"

   "It's about training new troops."

  Wang Gui said with a bitter face: "The morale of the army is a little unstable now. The soldiers are all worried about the lives of their families. Can the general be resettled as soon as possible?"

The new army that Wang Gui mentioned was the Song slave army. This time, the Song army rescued 300,000 Song slaves in Xiping Mansion to return to the Song Dynasty, and recruited 30,000 young and strong men from the miners to train the new army. Wang Gui was in charge. However, the family members of the 30,000 new soldiers currently live in no fixed place, and are temporarily placed in several refugee camps in the north of Jingzhao Prefecture. It is reasonable for the soldiers of the new army to feel uneasy about training.

Li Yanqing thought for a while and said, "Go back and tell the soldiers of the new army that I plan to place the rescued Song people in Yaozhou, Huazhou and Tongzhou. The government is currently measuring the land, and there will be a specific plan soon. Introduced, let them train with peace of mind, the government will not let their families suffer any more."

  Wang Gui hurriedly got up and saluted, "I understand, I'll go back and tell the soldiers."

Wang Gui took his leave and left. Li Yanqing paced back and forth in the lobby with his hands behind his back. The Xixia war has gradually come to an end, but many troubles caused by the Xixia war have also surfaced. The most troublesome thing at present is the resettlement of refugees. Some refugees are Fleeing from Xihe Road and Qinfeng Road, there are about 400,000 to 500,000 people living in the Fengxiang Mansion area. These refugees are not a big problem. When Xixia withdraws, they will naturally return to their hometowns.

The key is the Song slaves who were rescued from Xixia. Now there are more than 340,000 Song slaves rescued by Xiping Mansion alone. They will exchange civilians with Xixia. There are at least 200,000 people. Returning population is naturally a precious resource, but only by managing them well can the resource advantages of population be brought into play, otherwise it will be counterproductive and become a long-term instability factor.

This requires that the preliminary arrangements cannot be sloppy, let alone cut across the board. For those who are willing to return to their hometown, the local government must first have a proper resettlement plan. , and the housing problem must be resolved. All of these must first be established.

Now Li Yanqing deeply feels that what he lacks is not military generals, but competent local officials, especially the prefect of Jingzhao. Although the current prefect Ma Shan has a good relationship with him, in all fairness, Ma Shan's ability is still too poor. Especially in dealing with the people in Hedong, there have been many tragedies, and there are still many sequelae.

  For example, many vacant lands in Jingzhao City were occupied by immigrants from Hedong, which led to frequent fights for land, so that the people of Jingzhao Prefecture were extremely disgusted with the refugees from Hedong, and there were many conflicts. This is the concrete manifestation of Ma Shan's inaction.

After Li Yanqing gained a firm foothold in Jingzhao, it was an inevitable choice to transfer Ma Shan away. Li Yanqing had already written to the emperor Zhao Gou, suggesting that Ma Shan be transferred back to the court as an official. I believe Zhao Gou would not let him down, but The successor made it difficult for Li Yanqing to decide for a while.

  According to the agreement reached between Li Yanqing and the imperial court, Li Yanqing, the local official of Northwest Third Road, has the right to recommend. Generally, Li Yanqing recommends, and then the Ministry of Officials issues an appointment. Now that the recommendation right is in place, the key is to find a suitable new magistrate.

  At this time, a soldier reported from the hall, "Report to Dutong, General Wu Jie of Yan'an Prefecture, please see me!"

  Li Yanqing hurriedly put aside other thoughts temporarily, nodded and said, "Please come in!"

   After a while, Wu Jie, who was wearing a military uniform, walked quickly into the lobby, knelt down on one knee and said, "See Li Dutong for a humble job!"

   "General Wu, please excuse me, sit down and talk." Li Yanqing asked Wu Jie to sit down with a smile on his face, and let the soldiers serve tea.

  Wu Jie sat down and said with a smile: "Li Dutong led the Megatron Xixia, which made me feel proud in the Song Dynasty. I only hate that I didn't participate in it personally. It's a pity."

  Li Yanqing smiled and waved his hands, "Xixia is empty, we just seized the opportunity, how about it, I heard that the Jin soldiers attacked Yan'an Mansion?"

Wu Jie shook his head, "It's not an attack, it's just harassment. The two thousand so-called Jin soldiers were actually the Great Song Xiang Army who surrendered to the Jin Kingdom. We ambushed and surrounded them, and none of the 2,000 people escaped back, and they were all thrown into the Yellow River to feed the fish."

   "How are the casualties, brethren?"

   "There were more than 30 casualties. Deputy Marshal Zhang said that this is the first time in many years that casualties have been so small."

  Li Yanqing's heart moved, and a thought suddenly came to him. He pondered for a while and asked, "Is General Wu interested in coming to Jingzhao Mansion as the magistrate?"

  (end of this chapter)

Chapter end