After traveling through time, I became Han Zhang’s grandson?

Chapter 303 Historic Meeting

"If we follow Lord Han's wishes, will we still take the initiative to fight this battle?"

Sima Junshi was not a civil servant with military talent, but he would learn to understand the situation so as to make good plans for diplomatic missions.

"The initial deployment was still based on the reinforcement of troops to Weizhou and Yanzhou. After all, starting from these two places is the fastest way to reach Xingqing Prefecture."

"But we held a military meeting before, and we were also considering whether to fight this battle quickly or steadily."

Old Master Han Zhang took the wine poured by Sima Junshi, took a sip and said.

"What does it look like to hit fast? What does it look like to hit steady?"

Sima Junshi immediately asked seriously.

"Strike quickly means ignoring the remaining Xixia garrisons and rushing from Weizhou and Yanzhou to Xingqing Prefecture in one go, seizing the enemy's political center and forcing the remaining resistance forces to surrender."

"To play it safe, we will first eliminate the garrisons around Xingqing Prefecture, then slowly advance, surround Xingqing Prefecture, and force Li Liangzuo to surrender."

"Although the former could quickly end the war, it would leave troops throughout Xixia, who are likely to rebel on their own."

"The latter can completely eliminate this resistance force, but it will take a long time."

Han Zhang briefly explained the difference between "quick play" and "steady play" and the subsequent handling issues, which made Sima Junshi feel a lot.

"I never thought that the difference of just one word could make such a big difference."

"War is a matter of great importance to a country. It is a matter of life and death, a matter of survival and destruction. It must be carefully considered!"

"I understand. May I ask what I need to do on this mission to Xixia?"

Frankly speaking, although Mr. Han explained the purpose of his mission, it was to provoke trouble.

But the specific process and how to cooperate with the Song army on the front line is another matter.

"To put it bluntly, we must first explore the direction of the situation in Western Xia, especially the situation of Li Liangzuo."

"Firstly, he had just completed his control of the political power and eliminated the remnants of the Mo Zang clan in the country."

"With so much power in his hands, he must have his own ideas. Whether he wants to appease the internal situation first or rush into external war, we need to find out."

"Secondly, I will have more contact with the old nobles of the eight Tangut tribes and extract some of their thoughts on the Song Dynasty, good or bad, from them. Collect them first."

"Thirdly, we will try to contact the Liang family. The Xixia descendants are currently at their peak of power, but their status as Han Chinese will probably cause criticism from many Dangxiang people."

"If we can win over the Liang family, it will be very helpful for pacifying the local area after the war!"

Old Man Han Zhang's words made Sima Junshi and the Su brothers realize the difficulty of the task, and their expressions became solemn.

"In order to better protect you and complete the mission, I have asked the Zhe brothers to lead the guards."

"As the Zhe family is from the Dangxiang tribe, they must be quite familiar with their situation. If you have any questions, you can communicate more."

Han Zhang pointed at Zhe Kerou and Zhe Kexing who came to Yanzhou City to report.

"Meet the adults!" x2.

The Zhe brothers clasped their fists and saluted Sima Junshi and the Su brothers.

As for the Zhe family, everyone in the Song Dynasty knew that they were not a traditional Han Chinese family. Their origins could be traced back to the Xianbei people during the Northern Wei Dynasty.

Later, they merged with the Dangxiang tribe and became a branch of the Dangxiang tribe. The Zhe family was from the same clan as the Li family who founded the Western Xia, but they had an irreconcilable feud with the Li family.

Therefore, after the establishment of the Song Dynasty, they took the initiative to surrender and became the main force of the Song Dynasty's defense in the northwest. Eight generations of them defended the country and guarded the border, and they can be called the number one military family in the Song Dynasty.

"Oh, that's great! With the help of the famous Zhe family general, this mission will be much easier for me."

Sima Junshi smiled, feeling much more at ease, and soon started drinking and chatting with everyone.

. . . . . .

A few days later, after sorting out the relevant intelligence, Sima Junshi, the Su brothers, and the Zhe brothers formed the core five-person team for this mission to Western Xia.

Of course, there are more than these five people. The rest are secret agents sent by Han, who are responsible for going deep into Xingqing Prefecture to collect intelligence.

It is about 300 miles from Yanzhou to Xingqing Prefecture. It doesn’t look far on the map, but based on the transportation environment of the ancients, this distance is difficult to travel.

Along the Inner Great Wall, Sima Junshi's delegation spent several days and nights and entered the border between Jingzhou and Huaizhou.

This place is only a few dozen miles away from Xingqing Prefecture, which can be said to be equivalent to the capital area.

Thinking back to the last time he came here, it was the seventh year of Jiayou, when he and the Sheng family father and son went on a diplomatic mission together.

As a result, he didn't know what was going on in his mind at the time. He stood up alone with his sword drawn, held down Li Liangzuo and his nephew, and forced them to sign the "Jiayou Peace Agreement."

Thinking of this, Sima Junshi shuddered and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead nervously.

"This time is different from before. We need to be more measured and not be so aggressive."

After muttering a few words to himself, Sima Junshi sat firmly in the carriage, closed his eyes and began to doze off, thinking about how he would say his first sentence.

As the sun reached its zenith, the Song Dynasty envoys arrived at Xingqing Prefecture, the capital of the Western Xia Kingdom.

Sima Junshi heard the report from the front, saying that the Western Xia King Li Liangzuo brought all the civil and military officials to the south gate to greet them, which made him feel strange.

"Ten years ago, we would have had to be humble and ask for an audience when we went on a diplomatic mission. Now, things have really changed."

Su Shizhan's carriage was running parallel to Sima Junshi's, and he said this.

"Han Hou is right as he said, 'Dignity lies only on the edge of the sword, and truth lies only within the range of the cavalry's charge!"

Su Ziyu repeated another of Han's famous sayings about plagiarism with a hint of reverence.

Bismarck: That's my word!

Han: This thing, whoever says it first gets it! o(*￣︶￣*)o

"It seems that we really need to change our mindset. We can no longer keep the idea that defending the interior and the military is more important than defending the exterior!" Sima Junshi sighed.

"Maybe we can really see the glory of the Han and Tang revival?!"

There was an indelible excitement and excitement in Su Zizhan's eyes. He felt that he was suddenly inspired to write poetry. He quickly took out a booklet and a dirty little brush from his pocket and wrote and drew on it.

Su Ziyu beside him looked at him quietly with a smile in his eyes. This kind of big brother was his idol since he was a child.

Soon, the convoy arrived several miles away from the gate of Xingqing Prefecture. Among the flags waving, Li Liangzuo's dragon flag fluttered in the wind, majestic and magnificent.

Sima Junshi saw him again seven years later and felt that Li Liangzuo had grown up, but his complexion and condition were very bad, as if he was terminally ill.

This shocked him and he couldn't help but worry. If Li Liangzuo died suddenly, would it affect the Song Dynasty's plan to send troops?

The Su brothers were also worried. They looked at each other, secretly suppressed their inner anxiety, and prepared to wait and see what would happen.

"I didn't expect that this time it would be Lord Sima in person!"

Although Li Liangzuo tried his best to smile, he still trembled deep in his heart when he thought of Sima Junshi's ruthless look seven years ago.

The shadow of youth and depth began to cover the body of the young king. 'Puff!'

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Liangzuo turned pale, vomited blood, and fell limply into the arms of Queen Liang beside him.

"His Majesty--!"

"His Majesty--!"

"Call the imperial physician!"

"..."

The scene was welcoming, but suddenly it became noisy and chaotic.

The Su brothers' eyes lit up, and they looked at Sima Junshi with admiration, as if to say, "Sir, you are amazing! Your divine power is still as great as it was back then!"

Sima Jun was completely bewildered, his eyes agape as he stood there, wondering: Who am I? Where am I? What should I do?

As for the Zhe brothers, they looked at the fallen Li Liangzuo with disdain, thinking inwardly: "Damn it, isn't this extortion?"

In short, all kinds of things in the world converge here.

This historic meeting was also recorded in the annals, marking the beginning of the Western Xia's demise and being marveled at by later generations...