The Happy Life of Small Officials in Northern Song Dynasty

"Your Majesty, three lords, have you ever thought about why the Liao Kingdom chose to invite Song to destroy Xia at this time?" Su Jin asked.

"Do you have to ask? Of course, it's because the timing is right. Xia's civil strife has further weakened its national power. Naturally, the Liao Kingdom is unwilling to let go of this good opportunity." Zhao Zhen said.

Su Jindao: "Then, with the strength of the Liao Kingdom and the current Xia Kingdom's national strength, can it withstand the attack of the Liao people? I'm talking about the situation where my Song Dynasty did not participate."

Zhao Zhen had to meditate, and Xia Song said: "The palace account army, tribal army, and Jingzhou army under the nine commanding armies of the Liao Kingdom claim to be 80, and there are also the Northeast National Army that can be dispatched. Based on this calculation, the total force There should be a million; even if this number is exaggerated, the Liao people have been cultivating their health and rest in recent years, unlike my Great Song and Xia who have fought for so many years, the quality and quantity of their troops should not be much different; In terms of strength, it will be a matter of time before the current Xia Kingdom is destroyed, and the Xia Kingdom is already in decline, so it is obvious that it will resist the attack of the Liao army with all its strength."

Su Jin smiled and said, "What do Xiang Xiang and Privy Du think?"

Yan Shu nodded and said, "Master Xia's words are roughly correct, and it is doubtful that the Liao people will destroy Xia."

Du Yan also nodded in agreement.

Su Jin said: "Your Majesty, you have heard that the Liao people can destroy Xia with the power of a single country, but why did you invite me, Song Dynasty, to attack Xia together?"

Zhao Zhen said: "What's so strange about this, the Lord of Liao and I have a brotherhood, and the relationship between the two countries is currently very harmonious, which is very understandable."

Su Jindao: "What the emperor means is that the Liao Kingdom wants to have a share in the wealth, and wants to drag me, Da Song, to share a piece of the pie?"

Zhao Zhen said: "That's roughly what it means."

Du Yan interjected: "The people of Liao dare not take a share with us, because if they take the benefits to themselves, I, Da Song, would not sit idly by. Isn't he afraid that we will stab us in the back?"

Su Jindao: "The emperor governs the world benevolently, and regards the people of the world as benevolent and righteous as I am in the Song Dynasty. ;Maybe the Liao people are really sincerely making friends with my Song people, so it will be beneficial to everyone as the emperor thought, that's another matter; but in fact this possibility is very small, the Liao people are a country of tigers and wolves, Since the Chanyuan Alliance, the Liao people have not coveted the richness of our Song Dynasty, they only think for themselves, how can they make our Song Dynasty stronger."

Zhao Zhen said: "Don't think so radically. When the Great Song Dynasty attacked Xia, didn't the Liao people send troops to help Xia to attack together?"

Su Jindao: "I remember explaining this before. The Liao Kingdom of the Song Dynasty and the Xia Kingdom are three pillars, so there is a balance. At the beginning, Li Yuanhao invited the Liao Kingdom to send troops together. Firstly, it was because of the different offensive positions. Xia Ke went straight to Bianliang, while the Liao Kingdom But it can only be restrained in the area of ​​Bazhou. To put it bluntly, the mutual suspicion is caused by the uneven distribution of benefits; Out of fear, the 30 troops gathered at the border retreated and waited for them to realize that our Great Song Dynasty had already defeated the Western Bandits in the Battle of Weizhou, and the time for them to jointly attack has passed, how can they attack?"

Zhao Zhen nodded slightly.

Su Jin continued: "The three kingdoms of Song, Liao and Xia all check each other. No one wants to see the other country become too strong. If one country annexes another country, it will be a fatal threat to the third country. The reason why the Liao people invited me to send troops to the Song Dynasty , I just want to eliminate my worries in the Great Song Dynasty, and want to create an illusion of benefit sharing, but in fact, if I send troops in the Great Song Dynasty, I will get very little benefit. In an open area, Huizhou and Yuzhou in the south are where the heavy soldiers of the Xia Kingdom gather. My Song Dynasty can only be restrained by the main force of the Xia Kingdom and cannot advance an inch. Isn’t it for the Liao people to make wedding clothes? Do you still expect the Liao people to occupy it? Will you spit out a large piece of land and share it with Da Song?"

Zhao Zhen took a breath, walked slowly to the bookcase, took out a map and spread it out, staring desperately at it.

Su Jin pointed to the map and said: "Your Majesty, you can see clearly that the Liao people attacked from the northeast to the southwest, where the vast grasslands and deserts are far away from Xingqing Mansion, and their defenses are weak; And Bei happened to be the first to encounter the main resistance of Xia's army. Don't underestimate Xia's strength. The army left by Yuan Hao hasn't lost too much. At least there are 30 soldiers ready to fight. The attack by troops, at most, is the Northwest Fourth Route plus reinforcements. The total will not exceed 20. If there are more, the court will not be able to bear it; the 30 Xia army will fight us. It is a question of whether we can win. Even if we win, I am afraid it will be a miserable victory. ; while the Liao people can easily cross the Gobi Grassland in the north and directly occupy Dingzhou and Xingqing Mansion from the back, don't they treat us Da Song as fools?"

Zhao Zhen looked at Yan Shu, Du Yan, Xia Song and others, and everyone nodded slightly. Once the war broke out, it would definitely be like this.

Su Jindao: "What is even more worrying is the situation after the war. If our Northwest Army has suffered a huge loss, and the battle against Nong Zhigao in the south has not ended as soon as possible, and the Liao people turn around and attack our Great Song Dynasty at this time, what should we do by then? What should we do? Are we sure that we can fight on two fronts and win on two fronts? That is when we are most dangerous, and I am thinking, that is the real intention of the Liao Kingdom; they have held back for too long, and the Northwest wolf is too hungry Seriously, I can’t get enough to eat for one person, I’m afraid we will have to spare part of the city of Song Dynasty and add a humiliating treaty to stop.”

Zhao Zhenhan has all come down, and several old officials are also as white as paper. This is like playing chess. Take one step and watch three steps. If the first step is wrong, the next step will be restrained; If the main force of the army is completely lost in the battle, they will have to call in the imperial guards from the capital to supplement them, and the south is at war, so financial and military strength will be a great test; defeat may not necessarily lead to national subjugation, but as Su Jin said, land must be ceded To lose money, if the northwest is occupied, even the capital has to be relocated, that would be a big mistake, I dare not even think about it.

"It seems that my thinking is simple. Thanks to Aiqing's reminder, I almost fell into the tricks of the Liao people." Zhao Zhen stretched out his sleeves to wipe his sweat, his calves felt a little weak.

Su Jin said with a smile: "I'm just testing. I'm a villain, so I naturally think of people as bad. The emperor is a gentleman, so I naturally don't think of these dark places." [

"Although it's speculation, you can't be defensive." Yan Shu sighed.

"Yes, Mr. Su's analysis is quite reasonable. We have to take this into consideration to avoid getting out of hand." Xia Song already supported her son-in-law from the bottom of her heart.

"I have rejected the Liao people's invitation and will not give him a chance." Zhao Zhen said.

Su Jin hurriedly asked: "Your Majesty, what reason do you plan to refuse?"

Zhao Zhendao: "The master is famous, Song Xia has already negotiated peace, Xia Guo has already proclaimed his vassal to Song Dynasty, how can he attack?"

Su Jin smiled and said: "This reason is good, but if the Liao people do it alone, what is the emperor's plan?"

Zhao Zhen said: "Will they do it alone? Aren't they afraid that our Song Dynasty and Xia Kingdom will attack them?"

Su Jindao: "Of course they are afraid, but they have a reason to attack Xia. When Yuan Hao was alive, in order to get assistance from the Liao people, he promised to marry Princess Xingping to King Jinghai of Liao as his concubine, and he also promised to open the northern pastures to the Liao people. People are free to graze horses, and promised that after the national strength improves, they will double the repayment of the food and supplies they assisted; now that Yuanhao is dead, will Queen Yeli abide by these things promised by Li Yuanhao? Chen and Queen Yeli have had many contacts. She is a person who looks weak but has a heart as strong as iron. She will never keep her promise. The Liao people can take this opportunity to attack Xia Guo in a legitimate way, and my Da Song can't send troops to rescue her, because her name is righteous and our teacher is famous. "

"Why is the teacher famous? The peace talks between the two countries clearly stated that Xia Guo is a country subject to my Great Song Dynasty, and attacking a subordinate country is attacking my Great Song Dynasty." Zhao Zhen said angrily.

Su Jin shook his head and said: "That's true, but everyone knows that the so-called vassal state is just for face, Li Yuanhao still calls himself emperor; in addition, since Xia State is a vassal state of Song Dynasty, I, Song Dynasty, should supervise The country fulfills its previous promise, and the country's strength fulfills it, so should we pay it back for them?"

Everyone rolled their eyes, paying back the debt for Xia Guo, are they crazy?Besides, Princess Xingping has been secretly accepted by you as a concubine, would you be willing to hand it over?Don't you jump three feet high like a monkey that stepped on its tail?

"There is another question that the emperor must consider clearly. Once the Liao people ignore it and forcefully attack Xia, will our Song Dynasty send troops to help? This is an unavoidable question." Su Jin said seriously.

Zhao Zhen fell into silence again. This is a difficult choice. If he does not send troops, he will watch the Xia Kingdom collapse. From then on, he will face the unprecedentedly powerful threat from the Liao Kingdom. There will be no peace; if he sends troops, it will be tantamount to turning against the Liao people. , and combining the power of the Song and Xia countries may not be able to stop the Liao people's footsteps, and it even gave the Liao people a reason to attack the Song Dynasty directly.