The struggle of the reborn prince

Looking at the big-eyed and small-eyed ministers in the hall, they are secretly happy when they see Xixi. Which one of these people is not a famous person who walks out from here. The emperor was dumbfounded after a few words.If they regard what they did in the early years of the Song Dynasty as "benevolence", wouldn't it be that the emperor's revenge for the gold and the conquest of the four barbarians are all inhumane acts, and they shouted all day long, "Zhongxing Song Dynasty, conquer the four kingdoms" Yi's mouth was also severely slapped.

"I think these are all expedient measures. Goujian did Wu's sacrifice and tasted the courage to destroy Wu; Han and the Xiongnu, Tang and Tuque were married to win the opportunity to recuperate, and it was not until Emperor Wu that the feat of chasing the Huns far away, the prosperity of Zhenguan and Kaiyuan. And The knowledge of Goryeo is still not mastered, and I only know one of the words of the saint, but not the other!" Just as everyone didn't know how to deal with the silence, Zhao Tong said with a smile.

"Your Majesty is right. Goryeo prevented the military attack of the Liao Dynasty by proclaiming its vassals to the Liao people and gained hundreds of miles east of the Yalu River. Goryeo also obtained the land of Baozhou by proclaiming its vassals to the Jin people. To be a vassal is nothing more than Fame and gaining land are the real benefits. Goryeo implemented this kind of great diplomacy without any loss, but gained a lot of benefits. It seems that the wise man did it, but it was too utilitarian and lost the original intention of benevolence! "Li Gang said.

"Jing's policy of treating Koryo with small matters and Koryo's policy of treating Jin with small matters is like a friendship between the benevolent and the wise, temporarily resolving the conflict between the two countries and avoiding the outbreak of war. But once the situation changes, Jin will bully the weak and squeeze Korea. , and Goryeo couldn't bear it, and rebelled in anger, causing war!" Yang Shi also played.

"In order to protect itself, Goryeo turned to my Great Song Dynasty to become a minister. This is to restrain Jin, which has nothing to do with benevolence. But your majesty treats it with benevolence. But it ignores the righteousness for the sake of small profits, and there is no benevolence at all." Chen Gongfu said bitterly.

"The Liao and Jin dynasties emphasized their status and forced Goryeo to become a minister. They did not get much benefit for the big things, but at the critical moment Goryeo did not help, or even rebelled. It can be seen that Goryeo's surrender is just a compromise, not out of righteousness. Its actions cannot If you don’t wake up for me, you will avoid the mistakes of the Liao and Jin Dynasties!" Xu Jingheng remonstrated.

"My Great Song Dynasty is a state of benevolence and righteousness. Your Majesty governed the country with benevolence and filial piety. He mobilized one hundred thousand troops to fight against gold and aid Goryeo, and spent tens of millions of money and food. Goryeo is entangled with our dynasty over small profits. How can it be like a gentleman? Why!" Chen Yun said angrily.

"Since Goryeo is not benevolent, why should I lecture them? Why don't I withdraw the army immediately and let them fend for themselves!" Zhang Shuye was even more extreme, saying all the words about withdrawing the army...

Zhao Tong listened to everyone's condemnation of Goryeo, and knew that everyone had a new understanding of Goryeo.In fact, Koryo's looking left and right was originally to try to find a certain balance among the three forces when Liao, Song, and Jin competed, so that no one would be offended.Undoubtedly, Goryeo did this mainly to consider issues from their own interests. When they found that the three forces could not be balanced, they would consider which side they would lean on to preserve themselves and gain benefits. Therefore, they would favor the forces The stronger side, and put the issue of status behind the actual interests.

However, Goryeo's "big things" thought and foreign policy are mainly due to the fact that Goryeo regards the "big things" diplomacy that emphasizes utilitarianism as a good strategy to "protect the country" and is regarded as "wise men". For this reason, it has formed its own distinctive diplomatic thought and policy of "big things" that emphasizes utilitarianism.But in the eyes of the orthodox Da Song, of course it became crooked.In a blink of an eye, he was criticized to the point where he was completely bruised.

However, Zhao Tong is still very happy in his heart, no matter who was in favor of establishing diplomatic relations with Korea at the beginning.Still the ones against it.At this moment, they have already despised Goryeo's deceitful behavior, and he successfully guided them into his own thief ship, laying the foundation for the next discussion.But after thinking about it, this emperor is really tired, not only to find ways to deal with the outside world, but also to find ways to deal with the family...

"Your Majesty. I think that although Goryeo's actions make people feel disgusted, compared with falling to the Jurchens, the advantages of being their help outweigh the disadvantages. And from a strategic point of view, Goryeo's fall is not good for our dynasty, so that Jin can avoid both sides. Concentrate on fighting against our dynasty; from a tactical point of view, if we have a good relationship with Goryeo, we can attack from the flanks. We can form a siege around him, and we can also use Goryeo to ensure logistics supplies, so as to avoid the pain of thousands of miles of transportation. Therefore, it is not appropriate to turn against Goryeo at this time. But we can't turn a blind eye to his injustice, but we should use proper methods to teach him a lesson so that he doesn't dare to act recklessly!" Zhao Ren, who hadn't spoken all this time, came out and said.

"Your Majesty, I think Master Zhao's words are very true. You should not withdraw the army lightly, but should be punished appropriately so that they will not dare to offend my Great Song Tianwei again!" Chen Dong agreed with Zhao Ren's words very much, and seconded him.

"Your Majesty, since Koryo intends to 'give up' the land of Bao and Yuanzhou, why don't our Great Song Dynasty take advantage of the opportunity to take it? Occupying these two states can control Goryeo's throat, threaten Jin Guo to go to Beijing, and achieve the goal of punishing Goryeo. Purpose!" said Zhao Zhong, a member of the Privy Council, he really deserved to be someone close to the emperor, and he took the opportunity to change the topic, and he couldn't help giving him a thumbs up secretly.

"This..." Zhao Tuo raised his eyebrows after hearing this, and said after thinking for a while, "If we occupy Baozhou and Yuanzhou, will others think that we are taking the opportunity to annex Korea and affect the relationship with other vassal states? Woolen cloth?"

"Your Majesty, I don't think so!" Hu Anguo said, "At the beginning of the founding of Koryo, the Khitan claimed that Koryo should inherit the Silla land, and the Khitan should inherit the Goguryeo land, and Bao and Yuan prefectures are on the old Goguryeo land, so it should be It belongs to Khitan, Jin Mie Liao inherited its land, the two prefectures should belong to Jurchen, after we capture it, it can be regarded as an extension of the border, and it should have nothing to do with Koryo, the land of the world, it is just for the virtuous to occupy it!"

"Did my Great Song ever recognize the Khitan's statement?" Zhao Tang asked. This not only involves the two sides, but also involves the issue of succession, so it is necessary to find out.

"Your Majesty, this Goguryeo was once in the Tang dynasty and should be inherited by our dynasty. However, because Liaodong is occupied by the Khitan, our dynasty is out of reach, so there has been controversy and no conclusion has been reached!" Hu Anguo reported.

"Oh, there is no conclusion, that is, the right to claim and possess is still reserved!" Zhao Tong nodded, but he also understood it in his heart.

At that time, although Khitan claimed that Goryeo should inherit Silla land and Khitan should inherit the original Goguryeo land, few people responded.At that time, the relationship between Song Dynasty and Koryo was very good, but it was in the struggle with Khitan for Yanyun Sixteen Prefectures and other places. Song Dynasty and Khitan could be regarded as countries of enemies.The Song people knew that they could not insist that Goguryeo was "nearly within Tifeng" like the Tang Dynasty, because most of the original Goguryeo land had already been owned by the Khitan. Not only could they not occupy the original Goguryeo land, even Yanyun in the north The sixteen prefectures and other places could not be taken back, so they did not dare to claim that the original Goguryeo land should be inherited by the Song Dynasty.

Since it is impossible for the Song Dynasty to inherit the original land of Goguryeo, who should the Song people support to inherit the land of Goguryeo? Undoubtedly, if the Song people admit that the Khitan inherited the land of Goguryeo, it will only strengthen the power of the Khitan, and it will hurt the people who are fighting against the Khitan. For the Song Dynasty, there is no benefit at all. It is better to admit that Goryeo inherited the land of Goguryeo. In that case, the "friendly" relationship with Goryeo can be deepened, and Goryeo's support can be further obtained, and the Khitan may be weakened through the war that Goryeo may launch for this purpose. Power, why not do it!

Therefore, the Song people supported Goryeo as the successor of Goguryeo. As the relationship between the two countries was changing, they supported it when the relationship was good, and said that they should inherit it when the relationship was not good. There was no clear decision. The conclusion, let alone written materials, was occupied by Khitan in the past anyway, and later occupied by Jurchen, and Song Dynasty couldn't even touch it.

Since everyone is a potential heir, and each has its own set of theoretical support, in Zhao Tong's view, there are a lot of articles in it, at least there is a reason for wrangling...

"Your Majesty, although there is no conclusion about Goryeo at this moment, in fact it has been occupied by Goryeo for more than 200 years. Our dynasty hastily proposed to claim the old land of Goguryeo. I am afraid that it will be suspected of breaking the contract and damaging our name of benevolence and righteousness!" Li Gang looked at the emperor's eyes as a thief Guang, worried that he would act recklessly, hurried out to persuade him.

"Hehe, I know, this matter still needs to be discussed in the long run, but since Baozhou and Yuanzhou are the abandoned lands of Korea, we will take over them first, what do you think?" Zhao Tong asked with a smile.

"Your Majesty, I thought that occupying the enclaves of Baozhou and Yuanzhou would make the Jurchens feel like a thorn in their throats, and it would also make the Koreans feel uneasy. The defense of these two states facing the river and the sea is narrow and difficult to deal with. Once there is a change, it will be lonely. It is difficult to send reinforcements in time overseas; moreover, the residents there are all Koreans, Jurchens, etc., and the people's hearts are hard to follow, which is quite difficult for our dynasty!" Xu Jingheng said.

"Well, that's right!" Zhao Tong nodded and said, "Everything you said is reasonable, and it's exactly what I'm worried about, but the war is urgent and can't be delayed for a long time. I think we can occupy the two states first. Details can be obtained. Let’s talk about it later, what do you guys think?”

"Your Majesty is wise, I will obey your orders!" Everyone knows that this matter cannot be explained in a day or two, especially the matter of years of old sesame seeds and rotten millet. At this moment, the war situation in Koryo is imminent, and it has to be done.

Afterwards, Zhao Tuo ordered the Privy Council to inform Zhao Yong of today's initial discussion, ordering him to redeploy troops, not to conflict with Goryeo at this moment, as for the next step, wait for the order.At the same time, Zhao Tun announced that the navy had achieved a great victory in the naval battle, and ordered the relevant departments to prepare for the reception.

"It is said that Zhao Ren and Li Jun will go to the side hall to discuss matters!" Zhao Tong said to Jianxi while changing his clothes when all the officials dispersed.Although it was still a matter of discussion after a long time of discussion, at least the opinions were unified and the biggest obstacle in the plan was removed. He decided to take a step first and then talk... (to be continued...)