The Happy Life of Small Officials in Northern Song Dynasty

() "Master Han, what do you think, tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians in the Northwest bathed in blood to defeat the Western Bandits, how many people shed their blood, and when it comes to peace negotiations, you think you should compensate the Western Bandits with 13 pieces of silk and 5 taels of silver And [-] catties of tea, why? I want to ask you, did we win or did we lose?"

"This... the lower officials follow the rules and regulations of the Shenzong Dynasty, and the Shenzong Dynasty..."

"Shut up! The world has changed with time, this time is also the same time. During the Shenzong Dynasty, the Western Thief was still a vassal of our Great Song Dynasty. The first emperor gave the Xia people at the age of the emperor to appease and reward the party members. Now the Western Thieves treason, it has long been gone. Loyal to my Great Song Dynasty, and during the nearly four years of war, the western thieves slaughtered and looted my people, but now that they have been defeated, they have to compensate them with silver and silk? Are they worthy?"

"It's not compensation... it's... a gift..."

"Fool, that's just deceiving yourself. People don't want to be the subjects of the Song Dynasty, so what's the wishful thinking?" Han Qi finally couldn't help it, and joined in the verbal criticism.

The ministers were reminded by Su Jinyi that it was unreasonable to give Xixia coins if they won the victory. It was as if the Song Dynasty was defeated and paid compensation, just because they thought it would not be wrong to follow the old system. Now that they think about it, Fang felt wrong. . .

"Actually, the second point is irrelevant. The little money given to the thief every year is nothing, but this is a matter of principle. How can black and white be reversed? Li Yuanhao is a white-eyed wolf. If you can't see this clearly, I will have more money in Song Dynasty from now on." Suffering a big loss; from the third article they put forward, we can know that Li Yuanhao is not dead. He is nominally begging us to open up border trade, saying that he will exchange cow wool, green salt for our grain, cotton craftsmen, etc., and learning The etiquette and etiquette of my Song Dynasty sounded quite face-saving, but do you know who were the craftsmen who accompanied Li Yuanhao during the Battle of Weizhou? They were all craftsmen from the Liao Kingdom. I am a big city in the Song Dynasty; fortunately, those craftsmen are rough and can only build simple trebuchets and simple ladders, if Li Yuanhao can get more sophisticated siege weapons, can Weizhou hold it?"

Su Jin looked around the silent hall, and continued: "What is the wolf of Zhongshan? What is the legacy of raising tigers? We are kind to the Xia people today, giving them money, food, cotton cloth, and craftsmen; tomorrow we will fatten them up." The Xi thief who has recovered will bite back, if you don't believe me, please wait and see."

"My Great Song Dynasty is now immersed in the joy of victory. At this time, it is easy to make the mistake of being a good person. The difference between my Great Song people and the Western Thief Liao people is that they lack a tiger-wolf spirit. They always think that after the enemy is defeated, there is no need to fight." Beating a dog in the water is not merciful enough; who has ever seen the Liao people of the party to forgive me? It is because of this that they have repeatedly caught the weakness. It is natural to ask the emperor to decide how to choose. If you feel that I am rude today and cannot tolerate it, I will ask you to resign and go home to be my little merchant."

Su Jin raised the official mansion on his arm, put the official hat in his hand, stepped forward and put it on the steps of his highness, knelt down to salute Zhao Zhen, got up and strode out.

The officials were silent, and everyone was still immersed in the thoughts of what Su Jin said. Seeing that Su Jin had reached the gate of the hall, everyone realized that Fu Bi was the first to shout: "Lord Su, no, the emperor did not allow it." You resigned."

Ouyang Xiu hurriedly knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, Mr. Su's words come from the bottom of his heart, and they are good words to be prepared for danger in times of peace. How could your majesty allow him to go into seclusion like this?"

Yan Shu, Fan Zhongyan, Han Qi and others hurried forward and kowtowed to intercede. As soon as these people knelt, the officials in the court immediately fell to their knees.

Zhao Zhen was stunned, and then laughed loudly and said: "When did I agree to his resignation? I was just thinking about Su Aiqing's words, Su Aiqing, stop acting, why don't you come back soon?"

Su Jin turned around with a smile, but Zhao Zhen could see clearly that he was just acting, how could he escape the responsibility of insulting officials in the court if he didn't act?

Zhao Zhen got up and stepped down from the throne, held out his official hat and held it up. When Su Jin walked in front of him, he stretched out his hand to help Su Jin put on the official hat neatly, and picked up the clothes to help Su Jin dress. Su Jin Hurryingly took over the words and dared not, Zhao Zhen whispered in Su Jin's ear: "You want to quit? You still owe me a life. If you don't do it, I will punish you."

Su Jin was taken aback by the coldness in Zhao Zhen's tone. Zhao Zhen didn't seem to be joking, but he clearly had a smile on his face. The emperor has the majesty of the emperor. It's just that this sentence that seems to be a joke, it's easy to understand. Enough to make people tremble with fear.

Zhao Zhen smiled brightly, and said loudly: "Fortunately, there are many sensible people in my Song Dynasty. I admit that it is a bit too kind. Su Jin's words remind us, but how should we go about this negotiation?"

Seeing that the situation had turned around, Yan Shu wanted to say a few words, so he cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, the old minister thinks that we should choose another candidate for the negotiation. Firstly, Han Jiang is not the most suitable candidate. Secondly, it is difficult to draw up new negotiation terms." It's beyond what Han Jiang can do."

Zhao Zhen said: "Alright, who will go?"

Fan Zhongyan said: "Naturally it must be Mr. Su. Mr. Su is versatile in both civil and military affairs. The western thieves can't fight the war, and there must be no opponent at the negotiating table."

Su Jin hurriedly waved his hands and said: "I can't do it. I still have a lot of business in the northwest, and my wife is going to give birth again. I don't have time."

Zhao Zhendao: "The place of negotiation is in Weizhou. The envoy Xia doesn't have to come to the capital. You just need to tell me what terms you plan to draft. After the imperial court agrees, you will be in charge of the rest."

Su Jin certainly wants to be this negotiating ambassador, because only by grasping the terms of the negotiation can he fulfill the agreement with the Yeli Tribe. Then I miscalculated.

"Since this is the case, the minister complies with the decree. The minister's negotiation conditions are very simple. There is only one condition, and that is to ask the western thieves to cancel their proclaimed emperor and release them to the frontier people who plundered them. I don’t agree to any old coins, grain, cotton craftsmen, etc. On the contrary, I will block the border, and take advantage of the embarrassment of Xi Zei’s country to make things worse for him, so that none of them can recover in ten or eight years. Let's see what else they have to challenge Da Song with me."

Everyone was silent, this kid was really poisonous, he wanted to take advantage of his illness to kill him, but thinking about it would relieve his anger.

Du Yan frowned and asked, "What are you going to do if the Western Pirates don't cancel the title of emperor?"

Su Jin said with a smile: "If I don't cancel it, I have nothing to do. It is impossible for us to send troops to really attack, but I will make a gesture to scare them. The worst thing is not to fight and not to make peace. Anyway, both sides have to rest and rest. , My Great Song's national strength must be restored faster than theirs, this year's weather is smooth, and the summer grain harvest is bumper again, Li Yuanhao has eaten up all the cattle and sheep and can only eat grass."

Everyone rolled their eyes, what kind of negotiation is this? A situation of no war and no peace has come out, but as long as the status quo can be maintained and the two sides stop fighting, the goal of peace negotiation will be achieved.

At present, Zhao Zhen decreed to appoint Su Jin as an imperial envoy, and sent a note to Xia Guo's envoys, to change the place and time of the negotiation, to change the candidates and other matters.

……

After the early morning break, Su Jin knew that Zhao Zhen would definitely summon him alone, so he deliberately walked last. Sure enough, Huang Peisheng came and whispered something in Su Jin's ear, asking Su Jin to meet him in the Royal Study Room of Chongzheng Palace; Going to the Chongzheng Palace, when we arrived at the imperial study of the Chongzheng Palace, Zhao Zhen had already changed into casual clothes, and was sitting by a small desk waiting for Su Jin.

Su Jin stepped forward to salute, Zhao Zhen waved his hand with a smile, ordered Su Jin to sit opposite, picked up the teapot with his own hands and poured a cup of tea for Su Jin.

"Su Jin, you are very good. I did not miss the mark. The battle in the Northwest was well fought this time."

"Thank you for your compliments, Your Majesty is as blessed as the heavens, and my ministers will follow suit."

"Don't be humble. I know that you have made the most contribution in this battle. Going deep into the enemy's rear and burning the food and grass of the army is not something that anyone dares to do. It is admirable to be brave, but... a little reckless."

Su Jin said with a smile: "What the emperor taught me is that I also jumped over the wall in a hurry. The emperor appointed me as the acting envoy of Jingyuan Road to know Weizhou, but I lost Weizhou later. What is that? Can you still hold your head up?"

Zhao Zhen laughed and said: "It's true, now you have a bigger burden on your shoulders, and I have also handed over Qinfeng Road to you, Northwest is not easy to manage."

Su Jindao: "The minister is also worried. The restoration of production and the reconstruction of the city will require a large amount of money and food supplies. I want to ask the emperor to help me, otherwise I will not be able to stay in the northwest."

Zhao Zhen said: "I called you here to tell you this. I talked about this matter with Yan Aiqing yesterday. The main task of the Northwest at present is to maintain stability. To stabilize people's hearts, production must resume. Since your burden is not light, The imperial court will naturally provide great assistance, and you can ask for anything."

Su Jin thought for a while and said: "Then I will not be polite, I really need the help of the court, and there is one more thing that needs the emperor's permission."

Zhao Zhen became more interested and said with a smile: "What kind of tricks do you have? Let's hear it."