At this moment, the main force of Jin Wang Yinxi's army retreated to Hedong and used Jinzhou as its headquarters.
As for the base camp in Jinyang, his son Yinji was in charge.
His current life is not as glorious as it seems.
Although the slogan of "pacifying the rebellion and expelling the barbarians" attracted the attention of the world, the truly powerful forces were still watching.
The generals under his command were arguing endlessly about whether to attack the capital first or the Tartars first.
What made him even more upset was that the problem of food and fodder became increasingly prominent.
The land of Hedong was already struggling to support his army, and now the war was dragging on, resulting in enormous costs.
The grain route he had previously planned in Jiannan Road became unsafe due to the rebellion in Xijing and chaos in other places.
"Your Highness, the army has only enough food to last for half a month. If we can't increase the supply, there might be chaos!" The counselor reported with a worried look on his face.
The Prince of Jin frowned. "Opening up the source? Where? The roads to the south are blocked. Are we going to rob the Tartars? Or are we going to Xijing to ask that 'Emperor of Dafeng' for food?"
He paced restlessly.
The 90,000 troops of Zuo Xian Wang were stationed in the capital, like a sword hanging over his head, making him dare not march south with all his strength.
Li Jingang of Xijing locked Tongguan, blocking his way to the west to gain benefits.
Although the Uriankhai in the north was entangled by Shuozhou, its strength remained, with an army of 70,000 to 80,000 under its command.
He suddenly realized that although his slogan of "pacifying the rebellion" was loud and clear, he was actually in an awkward situation where he was restricted from all sides.
"The Tartars in Shuozhou have been repelled. My daughter and Xiao Cheyun should have been able to pass on the news. Why is there still no news?"
"He must have been placed under house arrest in Shuozhou and unable to pass on any information."
"Perhaps... I should really listen to some people's advice and temporarily... 'ease' relations with Shuozhou."
A thought popped up involuntarily.
Shuozhou was able to withstand the fierce attack of the Uriankhai, and its strength should not be underestimated. It is also said that they have a firearm that can unleash the wrath of thunder.
Once this idea came into being, it quickly took root and sprouted.
In the chaotic chess game of Dayin Tianxia, every chess piece is struggling for its own survival and interests.
Forming alliances and making friends with those far away, attacking those nearby, human greed and fear are infinitely magnified in troubled times.
There are no eternal friends, only eternal interests.
And Zhao Muyun calmly made another move in this complicated situation.
A carefully worded letter, written in Han Zhong's voice but hinting at some possibility of mutual benefit, was secretly delivered to the King of Jin.
The letter did not mention Zhao Muyun, but only said that the military and civilians in Shuozhou were in hardship, and were willing to "exchange what they had" with His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin, exchanging food, sheepskins, salt and other items for some "civilian supplies" such as medicinal materials and iron.
This seemingly ordinary business letter was like a stone thrown into a deep pool, causing ripples in the heart of King Jin.
"Exchange what you have?"
He sneered and threw the letter onto the table. "Han Zhong is a dying man, and Shuozhou is a city in danger. What can you offer me?"
"I'm afraid that after Zhao Muyun's death, there's no one in charge, so he wants to beg for a living!"
The counselor twirled his beard and pondered, "Your Highness, this matter is probably not that simple. Shuozhou was able to repel the Wuliangha last time, although it was due to the advantages of terrain and people, but there does seem to be something fishy within their army."
"Although the letter doesn't explicitly state it, this request for 'mutual trade' may have other implications."
Another general said in a gruff voice, "Your Highness, who cares what strange things are going on! Our army is short of food and fodder, and Shuozhou is in dire straits. What good things can we possibly have?"
"It's better to refuse it outright! The most urgent thing is to find a way to get food from somewhere else!"
"Where to get it?"
The King of Jin asked irritably, "The roads to the south are blocked, the west is full of lunatics, and the north is full of Tartars! Are we going to rob the people?!"
He took a deep breath and looked at the letter again. "Han Zhong... he wants medicinal herbs and iron? Shuozhou has suffered so many casualties from the battle, so asking for medicinal herbs is understandable. But asking for iron... do they still have the energy to forge weapons?"
He was filled with doubts.
His intuition told him that there was something more to this letter than meets the eye.
Maybe... this is an opportunity?
An opportunity to find out the truth about Shuozhou without bloodshed, to get in touch with Yin Yao and Xiao Cheyun, and even to get the secret of that thunder?
"Reply to Han Zhong."
The King of Jin finally made up his mind, "Just say that I sympathize with the hardships of the soldiers and civilians in the border towns and grant their request."
"But the location of the trade must be in Langu County, and the quantity and types must be approved by us."
"Also, ask him to send someone who can take charge of the matter."
He planned to test the waters first to see what tricks Shuozhou was playing.
…
In Shuozhou City, after Han Zhong received the reply from Prince Jin, he immediately reported it to Zhao Muyun who had secretly returned to the city.
"Langu County? Prince Jin is quite cautious."
Zhao Muyun looked at the reply and smiled faintly, "Okay. Let Second Uncle go! He's familiar with the cargo."
"We need to be more humble. We are here to ask for help."
"The primary goal is to exchange for medicinal herbs and pig iron, especially sulfur and saltpeter. We want as much as we can."
"Secondly, we will test the King of Jin's military rations. If possible, we can use our 'good stuff' to exchange for some food from him."
"Boss Zhao, besides fine salt, what else do we have?"
Han Zhong was stunned.
Zhao Muyun pointed to the black cylinders piled in the corner and said, "That's our 'good stuff', the 'honeycomb coal' that Yanzhou Qiwu Mountain has been producing since spring."
It turned out that as early as when Zhao Muyun was still the commander of Yinzhou, Wang Tiezhu discovered a coal mine in Yanzhou.
Therefore, Zhao Muyun exchanged some interests with Du Wei, the commander of Yanzhou, and took over the coal mine in Qiwu Mountain.
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