Chapter 359: Zhao Heng Faints

Yancheng.

On the fourth day after Chang Wei received the news, the intelligence that Ma Jin had defected to Xiliang was delivered to Zhao Xu by Xu Ke.

"Your Highness, the news of the Northern Di mobilizing troops is likely false, but there is no guarantee that if the war goes poorly for Xiliang, they won't ask the Northern Di to send troops. After all, Xiliang will certainly not let Great Song take back these two prefectures again," Xu Ke analyzed.

Before Chang Wei set out, this worst-case scenario had already flashed through his mind.

After all, such things have happened too often in contemporary history.

During the Five Dynasties period, Shi Jingtang gave the Yanyun Sixteen Prefectures to the Khitan and borrowed Khitan troops to vie for hegemony over the Central Plains.

After the Jingkang Incident of the Northern Song, the favorite minister of Emperor Huizong of Song, Zhang Bangchang, was installed by the Jin state as the Emperor of Great Chu, establishing the "Pseudo-Chu."

More recently, Wu Sangui handed over Shanhai Pass.

In his view, in times of chaos, the moral bottom line of people is very low.

The bottom line of a petty person like Ma Jin is even lower.

Yet, despite having thought of this, he had no way to prevent it.

After all, beyond Xiao Pass of the Ma Family lies Xiliang.

If Ma Jin wants to defect to the enemy, it is only a matter of a few days.

"That is correct. Xiliang has just lost Jinzhou and has now humbled itself before the Northern Di; they hate Great Song to the bone," Zhao Xu said. "Now, we can only have Chang Wei withdraw from Qinzhou to help the Ma Family hold Qin Pass."

"It is fortunate that there is a Qin Pass, otherwise Xiliang could drive straight in," Xu Ke said.

In the past, he did not understand the geography of Great Song's empire very well.

But since taking over the Flame Guard and now becoming the head of the Four Courts, he must have a thorough grasp of everything in Great Song so that he can provide accurate intelligence to Yan Wang.

Zhao Xu nodded and looked at a map on the east wall.

This map was drawn by his own hand; it was a map of the mountains and rivers of Great Song.

The location of Qinzhou is actually the birthplace of the contemporary Great Qin, the Guanzhong Plain.

Qin Pass is the contemporary Tong Pass; crossing Tong Pass allows one to reach Luoyang, which in the contemporary era belongs to Henan.

And here in Great Song, this area is divided into Sizhou and Yuzhou.

Among them, the area of Sizhou is only half that of Yuzhou.

Yongzhou lies west of Jinzhou and north of Qinzhou, inside the 'ji'-shaped bend of the Yellow River, equivalent to the contemporary regions of Northern Shaanxi and Ningxia.

This is where the Ma Family's three prefectures are located.

Therefore, as long as Qin Pass is held, Xiliang still cannot enter the heartland of the Central Plains.

However, in this way, Yizhou is exposed to the blade of Xiliang's army.

But Yizhou has always been easy to defend and difficult to attack, so it is not that easy to capture.

"I did not expect the northwest of Great Song to turn out like this," Zhao Xu sighed.

He had to order Chang Wei to withdraw his troops, and Xiao Pass fell into the hands of Xiliang.

Xiliang could then enter Qinzhou in force, and if the Northern Di joined in at that time, this Qinzhou would become a real meat grinder.

And a long-term, bleeding meat grinder at that.

His meager resources could not withstand such turmoil.

Even Great Song could not withstand such consumption.

Withdrawing troops and holding Qin Pass is the only correct choice.

"In this subordinate's view, this is actually not surprising at all. The northern border was bound to have such a major disaster sooner or later. Take Yanzhou for example; if not for Your Highness, the Northern Di would have already taken Yanzhou, and perhaps Great Song would already be engulfed in flames of war," Xu Ke said, seeing the gloomy expression on Yan Wang's face, and thus offered words of comfort.

Zhao Xu gave a bitter smile; he understood what Xu Ke meant.

What he wanted to say was that Great Song is currently rotting, and it is not strange for anything to happen.

This happened to coincide with his own thoughts.

Great Song is clearly a dynasty nearing its end.

If not for his arrival, perhaps Great Song would be like the end of the Ming Dynasty, about to be replaced by the Northern Di.

"Moreover, this subordinate feels that this is not necessarily a bad thing," Xu Ke continued.

Zhao Xu looked at Xu Ke with some surprise. "Oh? Tell me about it."

"As the saying goes, open an umbrella when it rains, and close it when it is sunny. Currently, the Emperor naturally needs Your Highness more than ever. With Ma Jin defecting to Xiliang and the situation in the northwest worsening, the Emperor can only continue to rely on Your Highness to maintain the stability of the border," Xu Ke said slowly. "When the time comes, Your Highness will sit securely in Yanzhou, and naturally, you will be safe and without worry."

After thinking for a moment, he continued: "Furthermore, with Ma Jin defecting to Xiliang, the one who will be most afraid is the Xiao Family, and since the Xiao Family is on good terms with the Dou Family, this is equivalent to keeping both the Dou Family and the Xiao Family in check at the same time."

"Having become the head of the Four Courts, your thinking has become increasingly profound," Zhao Xu said to Xu Ke.

He still remembered the first time he saw Xu Ke; Xu Ke was still a simple hunter's son.

Now he is clearly much more mature than before, with a touch of precociousness.

But as the head of the Four Courts, he must have such a transformation.

Otherwise, one of his mistakes would lead to the deaths of many members of the Four Courts.

"Thank you for the compliment, Your Highness," Xu Ke bowed and said.

Zhao Xu looked at him again. "This Prince understands what you mean. You continue to keep an eye on Xiliang and the Northern Di, and report to this Prince immediately if there is any movement."

"Yes, Your Highness." After acknowledging the order, Xu Ke turned and left.

Although the matter of Ma Jin defecting to the enemy came a bit suddenly, since it had happened, it had to be faced.

Although Xu Ke's words were full of the flavor of conspiracy, they were not without reason.

Although this trouble was great, it was actually beneficial to him.

First of all, Zhao Heng would rely on him even more; after all, if the situation continued to deteriorate, Great Song would truly be in danger.

With Zhao Heng's temperament, he would be willing to pay any price, even ceding territory and paying reparations, rather than wanting the situation to escalate further.

Therefore, after learning this news, Zhao Heng would certainly accept this reality and use Qin Pass as the boundary, and would not use troops against Xiliang.

After all, the Northern Di is standing behind Xiliang.

Secondly, the good days for the Xiao Family and the Dou Family, hiding behind the Ma Family to scheme and plot, are over.

In order to defend against a potential incoming attack, they will surely beg him to buy Artillery.

Then there is the Ma Family; the Ma Family, now only left with Sizhou, will have no choice but to follow him closely to hold onto this last piece of territory.

Of course, there are also disadvantages, which is that the alliance between Xiliang and the Northern Di has once again expanded its strength.

However, he does not need to worry about anything in the short term, because the Northern Di will not reignite the war without sufficient Artillery.

And without Iron Mold Casting, it will take the Northern Di a very long time to accumulate Artillery.

This period of time is enough for him to recruit and train soldiers and upgrade the current firearms.

By then, even if Xiliang and the Northern Di join forces, he will have nothing to fear.

Thinking of this, he ordered someone to head to Qinzhou to have Chang Wei withdraw to Qin Pass.

At the same time, he sent the news via an eight-hundred-li express delivery to Jinling to see what the reaction in the imperial court would be.

Five days later, his Memorial reached the hands of Zhao Heng.

At this moment, Zhao Heng was painting; after reading the contents of the Memorial, his brush made a heavy stroke on the rice paper, drawing the Beauty's eyebrow onto her face.

Liang Cheng let out an "Oh my," but looking at Zhao Heng, he saw only that Zhao Heng's face was pale and covered in cold sweat.

Just as he was about to say something, he saw Zhao Heng stagger and collapse to the ground.

Liang Cheng was scared out of his wits and hurriedly shouted, "Call the imperial physician! Quickly call the imperial physician!"

While speaking, he picked up the Memorial, took a glance, and cursed, "These powerful clans are truly not a single one of them is worry-free."

Then, looking as if he were about to cry, he said, "Your Majesty, you cannot be in trouble!"