People in the Song Dynasty were lawless

Chapter 238

In late January of the first year of Kangding, after more than ten days of back-and-forth correspondence, the court's tough response and request for peace talks with the Liao Kingdom were sent to Fan Zhongyan's desk.

Seeing Zhao Jun's harsh and even slightly critical reply to him, Lao Fan gave a bitter smile.

In fact, he could vaguely guess the result.

But for him, his position is the same as that of Lu Yijian and others, and he is not on Zhao Jun's side.

After all, spending a small amount of money can exchange for long-term peace in the future, which is something he can recognize, just like he has no objection to giving Xixia coins in history.

What's more, this way he can have enough time to calmly reform the country, and there is really no need to fight with the enemy now.

But obviously for people like Zhao Jun who have experienced a history of humiliation, even if they think they can weigh things, they absolutely cannot accept it.

So Lao Fan could actually anticipate this.

Therefore, his reply also urged Zhao Zhen and Zhao Jun to use tactful words and a discussion tone. He also thought that the increase in coins could be reduced to [-], so as not to arouse Zhao Jun's resentment.

Unfortunately, it still doesn't work.

If that doesn't work, then we can only prepare for war mobilization.

Fan Zhongyan thought to himself.

Then he quickly sent someone to Xijin Mansion with the request from the imperial court.

Originally, the Liao Kingdom should have sent an envoy to Bianliang to discuss such a major event with Zhao Zhen in detail, but Fan Zhongyan refused.

First, when the Liao and Song Dynasties went to war, the imperial court had issued an explicit ultimatum, treating the Liao Kingdom as a hostile country and cutting off all diplomatic channels.

Second, the imperial court gave Lao Fan the power to act expediently. Whether he chooses to continue the war or negotiate peace depends on Fan Zhongyan.

Fan Zhongyan said they could talk, so they could talk.

Then after further consultations with the court, if the court approves, then Yelu Zongzhen can send envoys to Bianliang to sign the treaty.

Now that he has gone south to invade the Song Dynasty, he has destroyed the decades-long friendship between Song and Liao. In addition, Zhao Jun has given conditions that are difficult for people to agree to, so naturally he can't blame others.

Then hit it.

Regardless of whether the Liao Kingdom accepts Zhao Jun's strategic counterattack or not, Lao Fan must be prepared for a war at any time.

The only good news is that Lao Fan has plenty of preparation time.

This time the Liao Kingdom was defeated, the morale of the frontline troops fell to the bottom, and there was almost no possibility of a comeback.

If Yelu Zong really planned to make a desperate move, he would gather an army of [-] people and go south.

Not to mention that it is the beginning of spring, when both the Khitan and the Mongol people on the grassland have to herd sheep to raise fat. It is also the season when the Northeast fishing and hunting people want to break the ice and catch fish. When the spring is warm, he may not be able to call on so many people. .

Even if they could be recruited, it would probably take half a year to come from the grasslands and the three eastern provinces. Moreover, they would have to prepare food and fodder, and war mobilization would take at least a year.

This year is enough for Fan Zhongyan to run Zhuozhou like an iron bucket.

Then it will be a fight to the death.

So with this determination, Fan Zhongyan sent someone to inform the other party.

Soon, the gate of Fanyang City slowly opened, and a knight rushed out of the city, crossed the Laishui Wooden Bridge, and headed north to Liangxiang.

At the same time, just as Fan Zhongyan was sending the court's request to the Liao Kingdom, Xijin Mansion and Yelu Zongzhen had just received the news.

It was early spring, almost the end of February or early March in the Gregorian calendar, and the weather in Xijin Prefecture was still a bit cold. The banks of the Sanggan River outside the city were full of green, and the wheat grown in the fertile farmland last year was growing vigorously.

In the Xijin Mansion Palace, Yelv Zongzhen had just issued an order to the generals guarding several nearby cities, asking them to take active precautions and dig more trenches to prevent the Song army from sneak attacks.

At the same time, as he moved to Nanjing, the same team that was originally in Zhongjing also came over.

Dozens of Liao ministers and dignitaries were quarreling at today's morning meeting. Some said they wanted to fight to the death with Song, while others said they wanted to have peace talks with the other party. Anyway, they all had different opinions.

This situation made Yelu Zong really feel pain in his head, and he had to walk in the backyard of the Liao Emperor's palace in Xijin Prefecture, Nanjing, to bask in the sun and relax his mood.

At this moment, Zhang Jian and Xiao Xiaoyou, who was left behind in Nanjing, came in a hurry, with extremely solemn expressions on their faces.

"His Majesty!"

When the two of them approached, they bowed first.

Zhang Jian uses Han rituals, while Xiao Xiaoyou uses Liao rituals.

Yelv Zong saw that the expressions of the two of them were wrong. Zhang Jian still had a big newspaper in his hand and frowned: "What happened?"

"The Song people rejected the peace talks."

Zhang Jian said in a deep voice: "This matter is related to Zhao Jun, the Governor of the Political Academy!"

"Didn't this person travel all over the world?"

Yelu Zongzhen was puzzled and said: "When the Constitutional Yuan of the Song Dynasty was established, and I learned that a young man became the magistrate, I was surprised that the emperor of the Song Dynasty had a favorite or a member of the Zhao family clan. How could I know that there would be no more soon? Got the news about him."

In fact, both Li Yuanhao and Yelu Zongzhen knew about Zhao Jun's situation, but they did not pay attention to it. Because for Xixia and Liao people, this is not a big deal.

Wu Zangying Pang's younger sister was young and beautiful, and was valued by Li Yuanhao, so the young Wu Zangying Pang gained power overnight and became Xixia's Prime Minister.

There is also Yelu Zongzhen's younger brother, Yelu Chongyuan, who is only 19 years old this year. He is now the emperor's younger brother, the king of Yanzhao, a member of the Privy Council of the North and South, and a minister. In two years, when he is 21 years old, he will be the general marshal of the world's soldiers and horses.

Therefore, seeing that Zhao Jun had the same surname as Zhao Zhen, Li Yuanhao and Yelu Zongzhen thought that this was one of the Zhao family's royal family gaining power.

What's more, not long after Zhao Jun came to power, he traveled around the capital and conducted grassroots research. This naturally led to the Liao and Xixia spies in Bianliang paying much less attention to him, and all their eyes were on Lu Yijian and others. On the body.

Now he suddenly learned that Zhao Jun might be causing trouble in the peace talks with the Song Dynasty. Yelu Zongzhen was naturally very surprised.

Zhang Jian replied: "This man returned to Bianliang at the end of last year, and he seems to be quite famous in the Song Dynasty. According to Neiying, Lu Yijian, Wang Zeng and others originally thought that peace talks were possible, including the Song Dynasty and Manchuria civil and military officials who recognized this person. As soon as it came out, it immediately changed the direction of the trend and I sternly rejected it.”

Yelv Zongzhen said angrily: "Could this man have eaten the courage of a bear's heart and a leopard's guts? Aren't he afraid that our Liao army of [-] will go south, trample horses to the north of Hebei, drink horses from the Yellow River, and let their Song people die without a burial place?" ?”

"Your Majesty, look at this."

Zhang Jian handed over the newspaper in his hand and said softly: "This is the magistrate's plan to deal with us."

Yelu Zongzhen brought the newspaper over with suspicion. He didn't believe that the Song people had any way to deal with the hundreds of thousands of Liao soldiers who did not attack the city but only attacked the other side's villages and towns in the wild.

However, after reading the newspaper and learning what happened, when he saw the strategy given by Zhao Jun, Yelu Zongzhen suddenly couldn't sit still and said coldly: "Is this person so childish? Do you think he said it casually? Can two sentences scare us?"

"Your Majesty." Xiao Xiaoyou shouted: "The people of the Song Dynasty are rampant and think that they can surpass me in the Liao Dynasty with those firearms. I will never tolerate it. I ask you to collect tribute taxes again this year. When the food and grass are available, I will ride in the Song Dynasty." military!"

Yelu Zongzhen saw that he was so aggressive and glanced at him. He was not as emotional as Xiao Xiaoyou. Instead, he was extremely calm and said: "You go down first."

"His Majesty?"

Xiao Xiaoyou was puzzled.

Yelv Zongzhen said: "The two taxes have been collected last year, and to impose additional taxes is unreasonable. What's more, it has just passed the winter, and the tribes do not have much storage. Forcibly collecting them will only make the countries uneasy. Okay, let me have a good time with the Grand Master. Let’s discuss it.”

"Yes"

Xiao Xiaoyou had no choice but to retreat first depressedly.

When Zhang Jian saw him leaving, he cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty is wise."

Yelu Zongzhen sat down on the stone chair in the yard, threw the newspaper aside, his face became ugly.

His attitude just now was naturally fake, because unlike the Song Dynasty, the Song Dynasty had more surrender factions and peace negotiation factions, while the Liao Kingdom had the opposite situation. This has a lot to do with the fact that the Liao Dynasty was strong and the Song Dynasty was weak in terms of military strength for a long time.

Although the Liao army was defeated in the First Battle of Baozhou, this inherent concept will be difficult to change in the short term. Therefore, even if Yelu Zong really saw the problem, he would not dare to express it immediately.

"I know that Ta Buyan has never seen the power of the Song Army. He stayed in Nanjing before, but when the Song people came after him, he was repulsed. He thought that the Song Army was still the same Song Army. But he didn't know that if he went south now, we, the Liao Dynasty, would That’s what’s really at stake.”

Yelu Zongzhen sighed.

Zhang Jian smiled bitterly and said, "You can't blame him. We don't dare to announce the true situation now."

Xiao Xiaoyou stayed behind in Nanjing and did not follow him to fight. Although he had heard that the Song Army's grenades and artillery were powerful, he had never seen them. The Song army's troops chasing the Liao people were out of touch before. When he went to rush for reinforcements, he killed many Song troops, thinking that the Song army was not good enough.

But who knew that the main force of the Liao people had suffered heavy losses and their morale was low? In addition, the grain and grass from the rear are still being collected and sent over. If the army is really assembled to go south, it will undoubtedly be another disastrous defeat.

Yelu Zongzhen said in a deep voice: "Father Shang, has Daliao really reached a critical stage of survival now?"

"It's not that bad, but if we keep fighting, I'm afraid it will be."

Zhang Jian said: "The imperial court's summer grain last year was used to fight the Song army. The autumn grain is being sent here, so that we can stabilize the front line without worries. If we want to mobilize a large number of troops, this autumn grain will probably not be enough. However."

"However, the powerful people in the country own a large amount of land, and the temples pay very little taxes. If you want to recruit a large number of soldiers and horses, you have to take money and food from them, but you can't get it out, right?"

Yelu Zongzhen finished his words for him with a cold face.

Zhang Jian's face showed bitterness.

People think that the land annexation in the Song Dynasty was serious, but in fact it was similar in the Liao Kingdom.

The majority of the ethnic groups in the Liao Kingdom were the Khitan. The Khitan dignitaries owned a large amount of land, and then the dignitaries of other subordinate states and tribes also owned a lot of land.

In order to take care of their interests, the tax revenue of the Liao Kingdom was very low, which indirectly caused the Han people in the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun to prefer the Liao Kingdom.

But this situation will certainly not last long.

Since the late Shengzong period of Liao Dynasty, the problem has become more and more serious.

The dignitaries of the Liao Kingdom believed in Buddhism, so they built a large number of temples. The temples also had a lot of land. The people had to pay tribute to the court and pay taxes to the temples, which caused a certain burden.

In particular, Yelu Zongzhen himself was a devout Buddhist, and he was the most active in building temples and raising monks and nuns. With his support, there were hundreds of thousands of monks and nuns in the Liao Kingdom. They lived without working and owned a lot of land, becoming a large social burden.

At the same time, the Yelu and Xiao families of the Liao Kingdom often fought internally, and the conflicts between the imperial clan and descendants became increasingly acute, resulting in serious internal strife.

The Xingzong era of Liao Dynasty could barely survive, but as the middle and late period of the Liao Dynasty, the upper-class dignitaries became more and more corrupt, indulged in extravagance, spent a lot of money, and the national treasury became increasingly empty.

What to do after feeling empty?

Of course, it is to squeeze the people, the country and the tribes, making the people and the people of various tribes increasingly poor and full of complaints.

In the end, the Wanyan Aguda Uprising led to the overthrow of the Liao Dynasty.

Although the Liao Kingdom was at its late peak at this time and had not reached the level of Daozong and Emperor Tianzuo in the later period, it was already quite difficult to maintain the country with annual tax revenue alone.

Therefore, the hundreds of thousands of coins given by the Song State every year are very important and are one of the important sources of income for the Liao State.

Liao Xingzong was actually not stupid.

He just didn't have the ability to change the many problems left by his father, the Liao Sheng Sect, from its prosperity to its decline.

And he himself is one of the problem makers.

But that doesn't mean he doesn't know anything.

The Battle of Baozhou has highlighted many problems in the Liao Kingdom, such as the decline in the combat effectiveness of the army, the national power of the Liao Kingdom being corroded by domestic dignitaries and temples, and the attrition caused by the infighting between the imperial clan and descendants, etc.

Even if the vassal states and tribes are currently relatively stable and there are no large-scale rebellions or uprisings, once the war continues and they lose again, they will see the weakness of the Liao Kingdom and it will not be certain.

So now Yelu Zong really knows everything, but can't do anything.

"His Majesty!"

Zhang Jian said seriously: "Your Majesty actually understands the domestic situation now, so I won't be too talkative. What I just want to tell you is that the Liao Kingdom can still accept a big defeat, but I'm afraid it won't be able to accept a second one, let alone the Song Dynasty." I’m afraid this human method is indeed effective.”

"What Father Shang means is that once I recruit soldiers and horses from all over the country, the Song Dynasty will immediately send envoys to contact many tribes and give them money and weapons. Will they really rebel?"

Yelvzong said in disbelief.

Zhang Jian nodded; "Yes, I think the possibility of this happening is very high."

"Hmph, give them some courage!"

Yelu Zongzhen snorted coldly. He felt that with the Pishi Army in hand, there would be no problem in suppressing the tribes.

But Zhang Jian said firmly: "Your Majesty, you must not think like this. How prosperous was the military force in the Tang Dynasty? How much favor did Li Longji give An Lushan? But once a person's desire rises, it will be difficult to fill even the deep valley. Not to mention that the Tang Dynasty is still at its peak, and we have just experienced a disastrous defeat."

Yelu Zongzhen was a little shaken by Zhang Jian's persuasion, and hesitantly said: "If I test them and send people to ask each tribe to hand over the tribute immediately, and send more troops, and don't ask the entire tribe to send troops, will they agree? ?”

Zhang Jian seriously warned: "Your Majesty can try this, but what I can only tell you is that you can only try this once at most. I even suspect that many tribes will find reasons and excuses to send less troops, less money and food, or even It is better not to send troops or money or food. If that happens, please Your Majesty immediately agree to peace talks with Song Dynasty."

"Why?"

Yelu Zongzhen asked.

Zhang Jian said meaningfully: "Because the human heart cannot withstand temptation."

(End of this chapter)