The Happy Life of Small Officials in Northern Song Dynasty

Among the officials, there are many people who are familiar with Xia and Liao. For example, the former officials of Honghe Temple, and later after the abolition of Honghe Temple, the Privy Council North House Master and other officials who were in charge of transportation with the two powers in the north had many contacts with Xia and Liao. So they still know more about all the situation of Xia Liao, and they have known what Su Jin said for a long time, but they dare not talk about the strengths of Xia and Liao in the court hall. looking for trouble.

Naturally, Su Jin never cared about these things, and he didn't think too much about them at all. He just wanted to tell what he had seen and heard, and the starting point was naturally for the sake of Da Song.

Zhao Zhen couldn't sit still. It wasn't because Su Jin said that the soldiers of the Song Dynasty were not as powerful and disciplined as those in other countries, which made him uneasy, but because Su Jin's words implied a little worry, which was what he cared about.

"What Su Aiqing means is that Xia Liao may secretly unite against me, Song?"

"It shouldn't happen in a short period of time, but as time goes by, this is almost an inevitable result. The minister believes that more attention should be paid to the movement of the Liao Kingdom on the border. Once the Liao soldiers on the front line of Bazhou gather in large numbers, it must be the two sides. The signal of the Alliance of Nations to attack the Song Dynasty.”[

"Is this also the reason why you don't approve of sending troops from the Northwest and Bazhou frontlines to the south?"

Su Jin nodded and said: "Exactly, we have never known the specific time when the secret alliance between the Xia and Liao countries was reached, but one thing is certain, once the troops are deployed and the troops on the border are unbalanced, it will speed up the process of their joint revenge; After the war between Xia and Liao, although our Great Song Dynasty was the strongest among the three kingdoms, it was far from being able to counter Liao and Xia's attacks at the same time, not to mention that the south was still using troops; Nong Zhigao's rebellion was limited to the Yi nationality mountain In the land of dense forests, without the support of these terrains, they will lose their advantage. Therefore, for Song Dynasty, they are just scabies. We only need to mobilize soldiers from surrounding states to support them, and give General Di supplies. , so what if it drags on for a year or so? But the Liao and Xia countries, both now and in the future, are the confidants of my Great Song."

Zhao Zhen thought for a while, looked at the officials of His Royal Highness, as if they were asking for opinions, Xia Song stepped forward and said: "Qi Zou the emperor, the old minister thought that Master Su's words were very pertinent. I used to garrison the border in the northwest, and I know the northerners well." By nature, the party members are unruly and rebellious, and they must retaliate. They have never really bowed to others. Now that their strength is not good, they only compromise to preserve their strength. If they have a bright future, they will definitely bite back as Master Su said."

Yushi Zhongcheng Bao Zheng also stepped forward and said: "My minister also agrees with Mr. Su's opinion. You must not be cautious. We are companions of tigers and wolves. We should be more careful in everything. Mr. Su still has this doubt in the northwest, how can we not pay attention to it. "

Zhao Zhen sighed and said: "According to this, the battle between Xia and Liao attracted the hatred of Xia and Liao at the same time. The Lord of Liao sent a letter of credence the day before yesterday, angrily scolding my Great Song for treachery, and has severed everything from my Great Song. exchanges, closing all trading places on the border, and declaring that we will not live together. I knew that there would be such a result, but I didn’t care too much about it. But what Su Aiqing said about the close alliance between Xia and Liaohui was unexpected. , I thought the Xia people would be grateful to me, Song Dynasty, for preserving their place."

Su Jin said: "The Xia people are not stupid!"

Everyone could hear Su Jin's implication. Don't think that the Xia people are all two hundred and five. They know that Song Guo is using them, and what Su Jin did is also obvious. During the war, Su Jin did not take into account the casualties of the Xia army. , causing Xia Jun to lose more than [-] yuan in the battle with the Liao Army, and took away all the kerosene and other materials aided after the war. The intention is evil; Su Jin is probably already synonymous with the devil in the court of Xia Kingdom, and his reputation is extremely notorious.

"Forget it, if there is any objection, I will approve Su Aiqing's play, and instead of dispatching troops from the north, I will mobilize soldiers from the nearby state government to support; but I would like to ask you, since there are worries about Xia Liao's joint attack on the Song Dynasty, what about my Great Song Dynasty? Response? You can’t wait for them to recover.”

Everyone unanimously turned their attention to Su Jin, and even the central leaders such as Yan Shu and Du Yan were automatically ignored, as if only Su Jin had the best strategy.

Su Jin could see the embarrassment on Yan Shu's face. Although he and Yan Shu had always belonged to the same faction, it was in the past. He was an official outside, and there was no direct conflict in power. On the contrary, the relationship was easy to get along with. If you don't pay attention to restraint, huge differences will result; Fu Bi is a living example. Weng and his son-in-law turned against each other because of the New Deal. To avoid suspicion, but this reason is really not convincing.

"My minister has not yet come up with a good plan, but Prime Minister Du Shumi must have a plan." Su Jin said: "I would like to hear the opinions of the two elders."

Zhao Zhen secretly praised Su Jin's cleverness, and for a moment just now, he almost ignored the existence of the prime minister and the privy envoy. It seemed that only Su Jin's words were a good strategy, and he had to say that he was a bit gaffe.

"Yan Aiqing has always been calm and meticulous, and it is the foundation of our great Song society. I want to hear your opinion."

The unhappiness on Yan Shu's face disappeared in a flash, and he regained his calm look, and walked forward slowly and said, "Your Majesty, fellow colleagues, I was too optimistic about the situation after the Helan Mountain War in Liaoxia. We don't need to worry about the imminent catastrophe as Mr. Su said, because no matter what, this great war has cost the Liao and Xia countries a lot in terms of morale and actual results, and both sides have lost a lot The army consumes a lot of supplies and thinks about what to do in a short period of time, that is wishful thinking."

The officials obviously felt that Yan Shu didn't take Su Jin's previous analysis seriously. The sensitive officials immediately began to speculate on the scale of confrontation between the two, and those who thought far away immediately began to think about where to stand in their minds. Let's talk about it.

However, Yan Shu didn't let their thoughts go any further, and continued, "But Mr. Su's worries are not groundless. Near-term worries don't mean there is no foresight. Liaoxia suffered a big loss, and he hates it." The opponent's degree is far less than hating Da Song, because Da Song is the one who caused them to fight. From the perspective of long-term interests, the possibility of Liao Xia forming an alliance is increasing; and the Xia people pointed out by Master Su immediately Deploying heavy troops on the northwestern border reflects the psychology of the Xia people. In their hearts, I, the Song Dynasty, are the most powerful enemy; the Liao people's goals are naturally clearer. They were stabbed in the back by the Song Dynasty, so the heart of hatred is natural. The first Song Dynasty."

"The old minister was just thinking about how to deal with it. After much deliberation, it was not the eight words 'rich the country and strengthen the army, and the horses and horses'. The Song Dynasty must be so strong that they dare not move their minds. That is the fundamental solution. Dao, besides him."

Zhao Zhen frowned. Yan Shu's words sounded impeccable, but they were actually empty talk. Everyone knew that being strong could deter the enemy, but this was not something that could be done with words. What Zhao Zhen needed were concrete measures.

"What Yan Xiang said is reasonable, what does Shumi Du think?" Zhao Zhen didn't comment too much on Yan Shu's words. Maybe Yan Shu didn't think about it well, so he didn't have to chase after him with such impeccable big talk. There may be a better way to think about it in the future. [

Du Yan hurriedly said: "The old minister has a good strategy for a while, but the old minister will strengthen the border defense, pay close attention to the movements of the enemy troops on the border, and prevent problems before they happen; I have another suggestion, to be fully prepared, I ask you to increase the number of recruits in each state. By increasing the number of soldiers in the five capitals, the whole Song Dynasty can increase its strength by 20 troops, which can be used in preparation for war.”

Before Zhao Zhen could answer, Yan Shu, who was also the third envoy, said, "20 soldiers? Where do armor, weapons, soldiers, food and grass come from? This is a standing army. 20 people cost at least 400 million yuan a year, which is not the initial cost." For armor and weapons, the annual revenue of the imperial court is only 4000 million guan, and money is used everywhere, where does the money come from?"

Du Yan smiled and said: "It's not unbearable to share the burden among the state capitals."

Yan Shu shook his head and said, "The detention at the local level has been cancelled, and the procurement department is directly dispatched by the imperial court. How do you let the state governments in various places bear it? Isn't this 'forcing' them to hang themselves?"

Du Yan said: "It's okay to increase the tax a little bit. Anyway, my dynasty's tax is not heavy, so it's okay to increase it a little."

Yan Shu shouted: "Absurd, how can the tax rate set by the imperial court be increased as soon as it is said? The emperor said that if there is no tax increase for ten years, you have let the emperor lose his trust in the people?"

Du Yan was also angry, and said coldly: "Then what do you think? How about a rich country and a strong army? I will say this, but what's the use?"

Yan Shu's face was hot, and he said angrily, "You..."

Seeing that the two were arguing in court, Zhao Zhen behaved as usual when his subordinates were arguing, he had no intention of turning off the fire at all, and just sat quietly, Su Jin couldn't stand it and hurried out to smooth things over and said: "You two elders, don't get excited, we It's a bit immature suggestion, let me say it for the reference of the two lords, both lords are worried about state affairs, which shows a sincere heart, but this is after all, the emperor and all the lords are here."

Yan Shu and Du Yan consciously lost their composure, looked at each other resentfully, and put themselves in line.

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