Zhao Defang's road to the virtuous king

Taizu brought here Defang, who was only 16 years old at the time, and told him that Shi Jin would cut off thistles and bribe Khitan, so that one side could only restrict the outside world. Instead, when there are enough 500 million coins here, he plans to redeem the sixteen prefectures of Yanyun and the common people in the prefectures from Liao. If the Khitan people do not accept the offer of redemption, he will use up the money to recruit warriors When conquering the Liao Kingdom, Emperor Taizu gave Defang one of the Zuoku jade pendants that opened the copper wall door. Thinking of this, Defang's eyes were a little red, and Zhenzong asked softly when he saw this, "Brother emperor, are you okay?"

Defang swallowed, looked at the sword and said, "Emperor Taizu once said: To buy the head of a Khitan with 24 silk, the Liao army's elite soldiers are only more than 200, and [-] million silk can defeat the enemy. For this reason, Emperor Taizu He also made a plan to establish a Daming Mansion in the north to confront the Liao people. In the ninth year of Kaibao, the inventory in the treasury was basically enough, so Taizu discussed with the late emperor to deal with the matter, but the late emperor thought that it was impossible to negotiate, and he should directly send troops to capture it. There was a dispute between the Taizu and the late emperor, after that, the Taizu emperor went to the late emperor's mansion several times to discuss, but there was no result."

Defang walked up to the big knife, touched the handle of the knife with his hand and said with a choked voice, "This is to protect the knife cast in this storehouse. The Taizu once said that if this storehouse is opened again, it will be a sign that Yanyun will soon recover. At that time, I will personally cut off the sword to show Song and Liao's intention to stop fighting."

"Brother Emperor. I don't know that there is such a thing." Hearing this, Zhenzong also felt a little regretful in his heart, "Although the first emperor also went out to conquer the land of Yanyun, he was defeated at the Gaoliang River in the end, and the first emperor was injured by an arrow. , now, I am also in this predicament, what should I do?"

"Your Majesty" Defang looked at Zhenzong and said, "The current situation of the war is unpredictable, and the matter of redemption is absolutely impossible. The Liao people intend to be in the Central Plains, and they are not simply greedy for money. I believe that everything in the treasury should be added to the national treasury. On the one hand, it is used to deliver food and weapons to the border town soldiers, and on the other hand, it is used for the national economy and people's livelihood, so it is more practical."

"Brother Huang, if this is the case, wouldn't it be contrary to Emperor Taizu's intention?" Zhenzong was a little worried.

Hearing this, Defang turned around, slowly knelt down before the sword and said, "This is the fault of the minister, and has nothing to do with Your Majesty. The Emperor Taizu has a spirit in heaven. If Defang's actions go against Taizu's heart for the country and the people, Defang is willing to die under this knife."

"Brother Huang!" Zhenzong stepped forward to support Defang, "Emperor Taizu made this decision for the sake of the people of his family and country. I believe Taizu will not blame Brother Huang."

"Emperor Taizu" Defang looked at the knife, "If you have a spirit in the sky, please protect the soldiers of the border town and the people of the Song Dynasty. Defang is willing to accept any punishment from you for his unfaithful and unfilial behavior today." Speaking of this, Defang Fang kowtowed to the ground.

"Brother Huang." Zhenzong looked at Defang very unbearably, and then slowly helped him up.

"Your Majesty" Defang looked at Zhenzong, "Please open the treasury and use it to strengthen the strength of our Great Song Dynasty. I believe that our Great Song Dynasty will soon force the Liao Kingdom to negotiate peace, and then we will be able to protect the integrity of our ancestors and the foundation of the country."

"Emperor Brother" Zhenzong nodded, "I will definitely, my Great Song Dynasty will definitely become stronger!"

(The sixteen prefectures of Yanyun are: Youzhou, Shunzhou, Ruzhou, Tanzhou, Jizhou, Zhuozhou, Yingzhou, Mozhou, Xinzhou, Guizhou, Wuzhou, Weizhou, Yingzhou, Huanzhou, Shuo Zhouzhou, Yunzhou---You, Ji, Ying, Mo, Zhuo, Tan, and Shunzhou are located in the southeast of the northern branch of the Taihang Mountains, and the other nine states are in the northwest of the mountain. The sixteen states are roughly present-day Beijing, Tianjin and northern Hebei, large tracts of land in northern Shanxi.)