Chapter 318 Only the Song Dynasty is a Pure Land
"Master!"
When Hu Zhongyan saw Han Zhang coming in, he quickly stood up and saluted.
"sit down."
Han Zhang waved his hand, came to the main seat and sat down, and asked: "Minister Hu came to see me, what's the matter?"
"My Lord, it is common for court officials to have some personal relationships with Liao envoys. Did Your Majesty make a fuss over nothing during the morning court session today?" Hu Zhongyan said.
Han Zhang frowned slightly: "Minister Hu, please be careful with your words. As a minister, how can I criticize Your Majesty?"
"Your Excellency is right. I have no objection. I was also sent as an envoy to the Liao Kingdom in earlier years and had some private relationships with some Liao officials. But private relationships are private relationships, and we never talk about state affairs," said Hu Zhongyan.
"But Minister Peng's family has a huge amount of property of unknown origin. There is nothing wrong with Your Majesty asking someone to investigate." Han Zhang said lightly.
Hu Zhongyan's heart sank when he heard this. He came to find Han Zhang because he wanted Han Zhang to persuade Zhao Xing to make a big deal out of a small matter.
But now Han Zhang's attitude seems to support Zhao Xing to continue the investigation.
Hu Zhongyan did not give up, but continued: "This time the Liao envoys visited the important officials in the court. It is obviously a calculation of the Liao Kingdom. We should persuade Your Majesty."
"It's hard to say whether it was a plot by the Liao Kingdom, but Minister Peng does have some issues, so it doesn't hurt to investigate. Even if it was a plot by the Liao Kingdom, what can it do? The Song Dynasty has no intention of sending troops anyway."
Han Zhang shook his head slightly and reminded: "Minister Hu, you'd better focus more on government affairs."
"As for what you said, sir, I will take my leave now!" Hu Zhongyan stood up and said.
Since Han Zhang was unwilling to persuade Zhao Xing, he could only think of other ways.
After sending Hu Zhongyan out of the public housing, Han Zhang looked at Hu Zhongyan's departing back and shook his head slightly.
…………
Hu Zhongyan walked out of the Zhizheng Hall with a frown on his face. Han Zhang was unwilling to help, so he could only make a fuss about the trial.
Normally, the Sansi joint trial is conducted by officials sent by the Ministry of Justice, the Dali Temple and the Censorate.
This time, Zhao Xing handed the matter over to the heads of the three departments.
Not to mention Yan Kuan, Luo Hui is simply a stone in the toilet. If he thinks something is wrong, he will dare to contradict even the government.
If I go to find him, I will just be asking for trouble.
Among the three, the only one he was sure of was the Chief Justice of the Dali Temple.
But it might be difficult for the Dali Temple Minister alone to protect Peng Qingzhong.
But no matter how difficult it is, he has to try.
…………
After Zhao Xing handed the matter over to Yan Kuan, he did not pay much attention to it.
Yan Kuan was a smart man. He had sent people to remind him that if Yan Kuan still dared to act in favoritism, he would be courting death.
He handles government affairs every day and spends his free time with the pregnant Zhang Guifen and Minglan, so his life is quite fulfilling.
News also came from the Liao Kingdom. Although Yelu Chongyuan's plan was good, Yelu Yixin later became a powerful official in the Liao Kingdom, and he was not an easy person to deal with.
Yelu Yixin directly ordered the withdrawal of 50,000 troops from the borders of the Song Dynasty and Western Xia. Yelu Chongyuan was well prepared and sent people to ambush along the way.
However, Yelu Yixin had anticipated this. The purpose of his mobilization of troops was not to return to Shangjing for support, but to attack Yelu Chongyuan's ambush.
Yelu Chongyuan's ambushing troops on both sides suffered heavy losses.
For a while, both sides went back and forth, and neither side gained any advantage.
But overall, Yelu Chongyuan still has the upper hand.
Yelu Chongyuan occupied a larger territory and had a larger population.
In addition, Yelu Chongyuan also drew some troops from various tribes in the grassland that were affiliated with the Liao Kingdom.
Not only did it make up for the previous losses, but it also made the army stronger.
The battle with the Liao Kingdom was in full swing, and the Western Xia was also not idle.
The Tibetan tribes on the plateau banded together, and although they were no match for the Western Xia, they temporarily slowed down the Western Xia's advance and caused considerable losses to the Western Xia.
Li Liangzuo adopted Liang Guangchuan's suggestion and pretended to withdraw his troops because of the heavy losses. After the Western Xia withdrew their troops, the territories of several tribes that had been destroyed by the Western Xia were vacated.
Although those tribes were not completely destroyed and still had some remnant forces, they no longer had the ability to occupy those territories.
The reason why the various Tibetan tribes on the plateau stuck together was because of the external enemy, Western Xia.
They all want to unify the plateau, and there have been many wars over the years.
Now that Xixia has retreated, so many unowned territories have been left vacant. Which tribe would not be tempted?
After confirming that the Western Xia had withdrawn, the two largest Tibetan tribes on the plateau worked together to attack other tribes while the allied forces were still there.
For a time, the various tribes on the plateau fought each other.
In addition to the Liao Kingdom and the Western Xia, the situation in the Dali Kingdom was also not peaceful.
The Dali Kingdom was dominated by a few big families. Now the Gao family holds power and the royal family has almost become a puppet.
The Gao family controlled the power and tried their best to suppress the other families. The Yang family chose to take a risk and started a rebellion.
The Dali Kingdom was busy suppressing the rebellion.
For a time, it seemed that there were wars everywhere, and only the Song Dynasty was a pure land.
Zhao Xing didn't care about the news from Dali, but the news from the plateau made him speechless.
Isn’t this the strategy Dong Zhuo used to move the capital to Chang’an during the Three Kingdoms period?
After Dong Zhuo retreated to Chang'an, the eighteen princes did fight each other.
Only the eighteen princes were smart enough not to take action, but the alliance was indeed broken because of this.
But the Tibetan tribes on the plateau were not so smart.
Zhao Xing could already imagine that when the various Tibetan tribes on the plateau had almost finished fighting, Western Xia would send troops.
By then, the autumn wind will surely bring fewer fallen leaves and quickly swallow up the plateau.
I know it, but there is no way to stop it.
Even if he sent people to the plateau now and told the Tibetan tribes that this was a Western Xia plot, they would not believe it.
However, the plateau is vast and sparsely populated, and there are not many places suitable for farming. Even if Western Xia occupied it, it would not greatly increase Western Xia's strength.
Zhao Xing didn't care.
What Zhao Xing was worried about was that if Western Xia quickly unified the plateau, it would affect his plans for the Hehuang area.
The Tubo and Qiang people in the Hehuang area did not dare to start a major war, wasn't it because they had two neighbors, the Song Dynasty and the Western Xia?
They are already surviving in the cracks. If a war breaks out, no matter which side sends troops, the Song Dynasty or the Western Xia, they will find it difficult to resist.
After Xixia pacifies the plateau, it will inevitably rest and recuperate.
In that case, it would be almost impossible for Wang Shao to succeed in inciting a fight between the Tubo and Qiang peoples in Hehuang.
Even if successful, Xixia would not watch the Song Dynasty annex Hehuang.
Thinking of this, Zhao Xing immediately wrote a letter and ordered someone to send it to the northwest.
…………
Northwest, Qinzhou City
Although Qinzhou City is located in the northwest, it is considered a relatively prosperous city in the northwest because it is not far from the border between the Song Dynasty and the Hehuang area.
Before the Song Dynasty, trade with Western Xia was prohibited, but trade with the Tubo and Qiang people in the Hehuang area was not prohibited.
Therefore, there are many merchants from all over the world in the city.
There is a house in the north of the city with the words "Gu Mansion" hung on the door.
This is the house that Gu Tingye bought after arriving in Qinzhou.
Although Gu Tingye was a military general, he brought his wife with him when he took office, so naturally he had to buy a house to accommodate his wife.
At this time in the study, Gu Tingye and Wang Shao were sitting on the soft couch at the top.
Yuan Wenshao and Sheng Changwu sat on the left and right respectively.
(End of this chapter)