Dawn of the Empire

Chapter 246: Listening to String Songs Everywhere (1)

Zhao Xingde was in a daze when Han Ningshuang's voice came from behind him: "General Zhao, why don't you make a bet?"

Zhao Xingde turned his head away, Han Ningshuang was looking over, and said with a smile: "Mr. Zhao thinks, how is the Jiaodai in Liaodong compared to the sumo in Kaifeng?" She took a step forward and stood side by side with Zhao Xingde.Han Ningshuang nodded with a smile, and through the trembling branches of the big tree, the floating light fell on the plain narrow-sleeved Confucian shirt.

"Each has its own merits." Zhao Xingde replied after considering it.Liaodong wrestling is dominated by falling to the ground. Although each has their own unique skills, it is often impossible to tell the winner for a long time.In sumo wrestling in Central Plains, the opponent is pushed out of the narrow competition field as the loss, and the winner is often seen in three strokes and two moves.The sumo wrestling in Kaifeng is particularly colorful. In addition to the warrior sumo, there are also children's sumo, funny sumo and other tricks. The most famous "female" sumo wrestler can even attract thousands of spectators .

Han Ningshuang turned her eyes to the wrestling Han army in the arena. The two men gave their full strength, sometimes sumo wrestling, sometimes circling, and sometimes kicking each other. They fought for a long time. Don't dare to slack off.The Han army next to him was watching with gusto, and many people were pointing at the field. There were voices of discussion and cheering one after another, "Hook his leg!" "Kick, kick him hard! Whoops!" An ass with eight petals!" "Hug your waist, hug your waist!" "Oh, Han Da... the lord is here!" "See the lord!"

Seeing Miss Han and Zhao Xingde approaching, many Han soldiers saluted one after another. The two wrestling Han soldiers also stopped temporarily, turned their heads together, but did not relax their hands, lest they would be taken advantage of by the other party. Han Ningshuang nodded to them, Smiling, he took out a small ingot of gold from his pouch and placed it among the bets, and said in a deep voice, "This is a lottery. If you can't win more than a hundred rounds, you can't be considered a good man!" The two wrestling Han soldiers also fought harder.

Han Ningshuang looked at the warriors under her command proudly, and the surrounding Han troops kept a respectful distance.Zhao Xingde looked around, took a deep breath, and said in a low voice: "Forgive me for speaking bluntly, wrestling can last more than a hundred rounds, but the Liaodong Han people can hardly support several rounds alone."

He was facing the wrestling field, and from the corner of his eyes, he saw Han Ningshuang's expression changed slightly, and continued, "If you want to choose an ally, and make close friends from far away, Xia Guo is the farthest from Liaodong, so it is impossible to separate Song and Liao. To seek Liaodong, the least demand is from the Han army. Jin Guo is the closest to the Han army, and the Jurchens are only a few hundred thousand. Millions of Han people are adjacent to it, which is the so-called "side of the couch". Now the two alliances are only because of the strong enemy Khitan It's just on the side, no matter how deep the friendship between the two sides is, how can we allow you to sit big. I am planning for the Liaodong Han people. Since the young lady is determined to form an alliance with Xia, it is the best policy to stick to our alliance. If it is towards Qin Muchu, I am afraid it will be inappropriate .”

Han Ningshuang's eyes flickered with coldness. Looking at the wrestling Han army, she said in a low voice: "As the general said, Xia Guo is far away but Jin Guo is close. Even if we form an alliance with Xia Guo, there is still not enough food, grass, and armored soldiers. If you offend the Kingdom of Jin, disaster is imminent, and there will be fear of defeat." A man in the middle of the field stretched out his left foot, but instead of tripping his opponent, he was pushed staggeringly, and the Han soldiers on the edge of the field all exclaimed loudly Fortunately, he put his arms around the opponent's waist, so he didn't fall to the ground just now.

Han Ningshuang breathed a sigh of relief like everyone else, and said slowly: "If there is any offense to the previous words, I apologize to the general. It's just that the elders in Liaodong are indeed short of food. If the old and weak are abandoned, the morale of the army will collapse immediately. 30 Wanshi food and grass is not an empty number. If it is spring plowing and autumn harvesting, it can roughly survive the winter, but the long-distance relocation of the village misses the farming season. If there is no such food and grass, people will still starve to death in winter. At that time, if the Jin Kingdom has suitable Conditions, we also have to consider."

"This is drinking poison to quench thirst." Zhao Xingde said in a deep voice.

Han Ningshuang's eyes dimmed, and she said in a low voice, "If the grain is transported from the Central Plains, if the wind is favorable, the sea-going ship departs from Dengzhou and reaches Liaodong in only two days, and departs from Huainan and reaches Liaodong in only one month. A sea-going ship can transport It’s not impossible to transport 30 shi of grain to the grain. Sailing along the coast and taking shelter on the islands when encountering strong winds, we have already investigated this route clearly. Although the few major ports in the middle are in the Song Dynasty, we have found out It’s not strict, you can pretend to transport it to Japan, and break up the grain fleet into several ships to deceive people. Since Xia Guo is an ally, he should do his best to help us tide over the difficulties.”

Zhao Xingde nodded, and said in a deep voice: "I will do my best to help with food matters. However, the alliance between the Han army and the Jurchen Kingdom of Jin should be measured, and it is absolutely necessary to help the tyrant." Han Ningshuang frowned slightly, and said in a low voice: "I really don't I know why you are so hostile to Jurchen." There was some annoyance in her tone, and she felt something wrong immediately, and changed her words, "Even if we are far away and close at hand, Jin Kingdom and Xia Kingdom are too far apart." Before Zhao Xingde could answer, she said to herself He said to himself, "Understood, Mr. Zhao is from the Kanto after all."

Zhao Xingde was taken aback for a moment, he didn't expect her to think of this aspect.Immediately relieved, in the eyes of almost everyone in this era, the Kingdom of Xia and the Kingdom of Song, just like the Kingdom of Jin and the Kingdom of Liao, are fundamentally incompatible.Therefore, from Han Ningshuang's point of view, even if Xia Guo used Jin Guo to attack and weaken Song State, it would be natural, and there was no need to be so nervous about Jin Guo's rise.

"There is one more thing. For better cooperation, I need to ensure the passage from Sanyin Village to Liangchuan Port." Zhao Xingde said in a deep voice, "I have been away from Phoenix Mountain for a while, and I don't know how many people have been resettled there. , the places where people have been settled near Sanyin Village have been garrisoned by our battalion."

Han Ningshuang was stunned, and then said in a deep voice: "Our Han army will take care of the food from the sea when it arrives in Hong Kong. The part consumed by your soldiers and people is not included in the 30 stone grain and grass." She was silent for a moment, and whispered He added, "We only need 30 shi of grain and grass to go into the warehouse. You can add as much as you want to add to the front, and how much to report to the Huguo Mansion at the end, it's up to you."

At this time, the two wrestling Han soldiers finally decided the winner. One of them got stumbled and was about to fall to the ground, but he used a trick to hug the opponent's waist while the opponent was slightly relieved. The two fell to the ground almost at the same time, but after all, it was the opponent who fell to the ground first.Some of the Han soldiers standing around cheered loudly, while others sighed loudly.The victorious Han army took the lottery and bowed towards this side to express thanks.

"That's a deal." Zhao Xingde thought for a moment, then said in a deep voice.

"General Zhao is really happy," Han Ningshuang said in a low voice, "It's a deal."

Zhao Xingde readily agreed, but Han Ningshuang was a little suspicious. She nodded to the cheering Han army, and considered the pros and cons again.Zhao Xingde's condition is nothing more than taking advantage of the time it takes for the Han army to move southward, and his Chengying camp can occupy more land and people nearby.Although the state of Xia is powerful and its soldiers are brave and capable of fighting, Zhao Xingde has no more than a thousand people under his command. Even if he expands some areas and encloses some people who don't know soldiers, it may not be able to pose a threat in a hurry.The enemy of the Han army was still the Khitan after all, and Xia was too far away after all.

Han Ningshuang is the leader of the Han army. Once she makes a mistake, it may be difficult to recover.As the envoy of Xia Guo, Zhao Xingde didn't have so many worries as she did, after all Xia Guo was far away from here.Whether it is for Xia or Central Plains, the longer the war in Liaodong lasts, the better, and support for the Han army is imperative.Han Ningshuang didn't know that the Fourth Battalion of Chengying would set up a supply port on Yueyang Island. If the granary was expanded there and the grain and grass arriving from the Central Plains were stored there, the rhythm of the grain and grass arriving could be controlled. room for maneuver.

Zhao Xingde was about to leave and go back to plan the aid and expansion of Sanyin Village. Han Ningshuang said: "Mr. Zhao made a plan for the Han army to coerce the people. I am afraid that for the Central Plains and Xia Kingdom, the more blood the Liaodong people shed, the better." " Zhao Xingde was startled, a little embarrassed, in front of these clear and bright eyes, all the excuses seemed to be trying to cover up, but Han Ningshuang said in a low voice: "Liaodong is a place of bitter cold, not as rich and happy as the Central Plains, the Han people in Liaodong should The blood shed, we will never blink our brows, it's just that a good man deserves to live a lifetime when he dies in battle. If he wanders around and dies from freezing and starvation in the end, he doesn't hurt the enemy at all. Mao', it's such a pity."

After she finished speaking, she turned and left, Zhao Xingde was still standing there, the sun was about to set, the evening breeze was blowing gently, and the sky was full of red clouds like blood.

Three days later, the alliance between the Han army and the Kingdom of Jin was concluded. The two sides agreed that, in addition to not attacking each other, whichever side captured the city of Liao, the land, population, food and wealth would belong to that side.After completing the reorganization of the moved villages, the forces of the Han army shrank to the south of Dongdong Road, forming a pattern of gold in the north and Han in the south.If the Kingdom of Jin launched an attack on Shenzhou, an important town in the Liao Kingdom, the Han army must send troops to the south to support it, and if the Khitan attacked the Han army, the Kingdom of Jin would also send troops to contain it.According to the system of the Han people, the Han army will not be changed to Meng'an Muke. The Han army camps within the power of the Jin Kingdom will still only follow the orders of the Han family, but the Han army will send envoys to stay in the Jin Kingdom for a long time to coordinate the Han army when attacking Khitan. The actions of the army and the golden soldiers.The Han army promised not to 'harass' the grain, grass and ordnance aided by the Song Dynasty to the Jin State. The other side sent envoys to accompany them with tokens.

Wanyan Zongbi also wanted to add that if the Han people in the Kingdom of Jin fled to the place of the Han army, the Han army was obliged to return these escaped people, just like the treaty signed between Khitan and Song Dynasty.Han Ningshuang refused on the grounds that the war in Liaodong was frequent and the Han people were displaced and difficult to distinguish.As compensation, the Han army promised not to block the connection between the Zhenzhen tribe in the south, the Jurchen tribe in the Yalu River, and the Kingdom of Jin.Wanyan Zongbi considered that after the Han army camp moved south, the power of the Han people in the Kingdom of Jin would be greatly weakened, and he still wanted to propose marriage to Han Ningshuang, and he did not insist on the agreement to return the fugitive slaves.