I studied in modern times

Chapter 911 Dishes on the Table

Xing Shu was always by the side, watching everything that happened.

Several times, he wanted to interrupt.

However, every time he opened his mouth, the words that came to his lips could not make any sound for some reason.

This made him very uncomfortable.

He doesn't know what's wrong with him?
Until this moment, when the Koreans were crawling on the ground, they did not say a word.

Something in Xing Shu's heart seemed to be touched.

So he faced the official, bowed slightly, then turned around and looked at the Korean people crawling on the ground.

"What's wrong?" Xing Shu's heart was beating fast and he felt his whole body was burning.

"You guys want to humiliate our Song Dynasty?"

"Well!" Xing Shu threatened viciously.

The former gentleness and elegance, the former elegance and easy-goingness, have all disappeared.

"Bachelor..." Li Ziyi trembled and looked at Xing Shu pleadingly.

The accusation Xing Shu put on him and Gaoli was too big!

Insult Song!

If this happened during the Han and Tang dynasties, no matter who it was, if they were accused of this crime, they would soon see the armies of Han and Tang arriving at their doorstep.

Even now, this hat is terrible.

Once it is confirmed, won’t we know what is happening in Goryeo?
But Li Ziyi knew that his head must move!
Even now!

Li Ziyi looked at the warriors wearing mountain-patterned armor and holding iron-bone swords.

He began to tremble.

"How dare Goryeo insult a great country?" He almost crawled on the ground crying.

"Don't dare?" Xing Shu felt himself getting more and more excited.

It's like something that has been dormant in the body has been activated.

He suddenly raised his voice: "Goryeo pays tribute of 80,000 taels of silver and 30,000 rolls of silk to Liao every year, but it does not give even half a tael of silver or half a roll of silk to the Song Dynasty!"

"Isn't this a humiliation to the Song Dynasty?"

Li Ziyi was obviously unable to adapt to the sudden change in Xing Shu.

He also didn't understand why this gentleman from the Central Plains, who was always gentle and polite in front of others, suddenly became as ferocious as a jackal!

There was no way, Li Ziyi could only look at Yi Tian beside him.

The king's younger brother was the chief monk of Goryeo.

Yi Tian had no choice but to chant a Buddhist name, looked at Xing Shu, put his hands together and said, "Master..."

"The so-called annual tribute of 80,000 taels of silver and 30,000 pieces of silk cloth is the peace agreement between Goryeo and the Northern Tartars..."

The implication of this is actually somewhat ironic.

Why did Goryeo agree to give money to Liao? Because Liao had a knife at Goryeo's neck.

Why did Goryeo refuse to give up the Central Plains?
Because the knife from the Central Plains was not on Goryeo's neck.

Besides...

Even if Goryeo agrees now, it may regret it in the future.

What can the Song State in the Central Plains do?

Cross the sea to attack Goryeo?

Xing Shu laughed out loud. At this moment, he finally understood why he was so excited.

Because...

What he is doing now is exactly what Zhang Yi, whom he admires, did during the Warring States Period.

Threats, blackmail, coercion and inducement...

He played all the nations around in circles and turned the princes into idiots!

It is for this reason that his body and soul are so excited as never before!
Because, this is exactly what he really wants!

For a long time, the original intention has been obscured by the cultivation and literary rhetoric of scholars.

"This is the person I have always wanted to be!" Xing Shu said in his heart.

"What gentle and refined gentleman, what kind of gentle, kind, respectful and yielding scholar..."

"That's not what I want!"

What he wants to be is the person he is now.

They rely on powerful countries and use blackmail, coercion and inducement to deal with small countries.

They lose their courage and fighting spirit.

Then, have whatever you want!
Make them keep ceding land and paying tribute until there is nothing left to cede and nothing left to pay!

So, Xing Shu looked straight at Yi Tian, ​​and then, out of the corner of his eye, secretly observed the expression of the official sitting on the stool.

At this time, the official was also looking at him.

Their eyes met, and Xing Shu read a look of "relief" and "admiration" in the official's eyes.

So there are no more worries, no more fears.

He looked at Yi Tian coldly and retorted: "But the Liao Lord has flatly rejected Goryeo's request for peace!"

He turned to his master, bowed and said: "But my lord, the Emperor of the Great Song, can make the Liao people agree to stop the war and negotiate peace as requested by Goryeo!"

"But the noble envoy took all this for granted, thinking that it was all what Goryeo deserved!"

"If that's the case..."

Xing Shu turned around and looked at Yi Tian fiercely: "Then why should my Song Dynasty plead with the Liao Lord on behalf of Goryeo?"

"No!"

“It shouldn’t be like this!”

"On the contrary, my Lord can completely ignore this matter!"

"Allow the Liao Kingdom to destroy Goryeo!"

"By then, your country will be devastated, the people will be devastated, and the tombs of your ancestors will be overturned..."

"What does this have to do with my Lord?"

Yi Tian was so choked by Xing Shu's straightforward words that he was speechless.

He could only clasp his hands and sigh: "Amitabha!"

Then he looked at the young emperor with pleading eyes.

In his impression, the monarch was always kind, benevolent and wise.

"His Majesty……"

"Korea is a small country with few people, poor land and few people..."

"There's not much food!"

"I sincerely hope that Your Majesty will show His Majesty's supreme mercy and extend His grace to Goryeo. Goryeo will be grateful to us for generations to come!"

"If Goryeo can obtain the help of Your Majesty and negotiate peace with the Northern Tartars..."

"I will build a temple in Goryeo to pray for your majesty..."

"In the future, the descendants of Goryeo will continue to pay homage to your majesty for your good deeds today, forever and ever!"

"Korea will serve the Tang Dynasty just like Silla did in the past, and will always be a vassal of the Song Dynasty!"

Zhao Xu smiled.

Are you still making promises for me?

Besides, why choose Silla when there are so many other examples to choose from?

Back then, Tang Dynasty helped Silla unify the peninsula. How did Silla repay Tang Dynasty?
As soon as the Tang Dynasty established the Andong Protectorate, Silla took advantage of the international situation in which the Tang Dynasty was busy fighting with Tubo and was unable to look east, and sent troops to launch a surprise attack on the Tang garrison, forcing the Andong Protectorate to move its seat from the peninsula to Liaodong.

So, what you mean is that after this disaster, Goryeo will follow Silla's example and stab Song Dynasty in the back?
As expected, the people on the peninsula are all ungrateful wolves!

Zhao Xu sneered and did not answer Yi Tian. Instead, he said to Xing Shu: "Scholar, it seems that Goryeo does not need the help of me and the Song Dynasty!"

"Let's escort the two envoys out of the capital with courtesy tomorrow!"

"Also, remember to wait for the two envoys and pay off all the expenses in Bianjing since entering the court..."

"The rooms they live in in Bianjing, the food they eat, the writing brushes, ink, paper and inkstones they use..." "Count them all for me!"

Although, traditionally, all accommodation and living expenses for foreign envoys in Bianliang were provided free of charge by the Song Dynasty court.

but……

Zhao Xu is the emperor!
He has the final say!

You ate my food, stayed at my place, and now you want to leave without paying?

no way!

Yitian and Li Ziyi were suddenly terrified.

"Your Majesty!" Yi Tian immediately prostrated himself on the ground, crying and begging, "Please have mercy, Your Majesty!"

Li Ziyi also apologized: "Your Majesty, please have mercy!"

Zhao Xu just said coldly: "Emperor Taizong once issued an imperial decree, ordering it to be engraved in the government offices of all prefectures and counties..."

"Your salary is the blood and sweat of the people. It is easy to abuse the people, but it is hard to deceive God!"

"I am the ruler of the world and the parent of the people!"

"I dare not disobey Taizong's instruction and squander the people's taxes!"

"Therefore, since I ascended the throne, my daily clothes for the four seasons are all woven by the silkworms raised by my Grand Mother and the Queen Mother..."

He rolled up his sleeves.

"What we use are nothing more than common people's daily necessities..." He stroked the teacup in his hand.

This teacup is not a priceless Jianzhan, nor is it produced by one of the four famous kilns. It is just a very common white porcelain teacup.

The current market price of one is only a few dozen coins.

"The food I eat for three meals a day is all fruits and vegetables grown by the people around me in this imperial garden..." He pointed to the vegetable gardens in the imperial garden.

Zhao Xu's words were well-reasoned, open and aboveboard, and based on facts.

When he pointed out these facts, the eyes of the Dragon Guards behind Zhao Xu began to turn red.

Because they serve the king day and night.

What I have seen and known is indeed so.

Since the emperor ascended the throne, he has not liked luxurious things and has not used gold or silver utensils.

Last year, when Huainan was hit by a severe drought, he took the initiative to cut the expenses of Funing Palace by half, saving money from himself and the people around him to provide relief to the victims.

Then, all the dragon riders stared at Yi Tian and Li Ziyi with their eyes wide open, wanting to tear them to pieces.

Yitian and Li Ziyi felt uneasy when they were stared at by the Yulongzhi people, and they also heard what Zhao Xu said.

For a moment, they were at a loss for words and were speechless.

After a long while, Li Ziyi bowed deeply and asked, "I, an outsider, dare to ask..."

"If Your Majesty persuades the Liao ruler to stop fighting and negotiate peace, how much money will Your Majesty need from Goryeo every year?"

When Zhao Xu saw this, he gave Li Ziyi a look of relief.

He whispered: "If that's the case..."

"The Song Dynasty can't possibly get less than the Liao people, right?"

Li Ziyi swallowed, and then his face became extremely ugly.

You also want 80,000 taels of silver and 30,000 rolls of silk cloth a year?

Where did Goryeo get so much silver and silk?

Even in the past, when Goryeo was at its peak, the annual taxes collected from all over the country could not raise so much money and cloth!
What's more, now?

Yi Tian chanted a Buddhist name and sighed, "Your Majesty, our nation is small and weak..."

"There is no way I can come up with that much money!"

"It doesn't matter!" Zhao Xu said, "Please rest assured, my two beloved ministers, as long as Gaoli agrees, I will find a solution for Gaoli!"

In Zhao Xu's opinion, Goryeo's tax system consumes too much power!

Especially the middlemen, there are too many so-called wealthy families and clans!
In Zhao Xu's opinion, he could learn from the Argentine Saint of Rice, take an electric saw and cut out all these unnecessary middlemen!

At the same time, it can reduce costs and increase efficiency, quickly iterate different tax systems, and achieve an increase in fiscal revenue quickly, efficiently and economically.

Of course……

The most important thing is free trade!

Even if only half of Goryeo is left, it should have a population of two to three million, right?
The cloth, salt, grain, porcelain and other commodities consumed by these people every year add up to a huge market.

In addition, the Koreans were still using copper coins, which was inconvenient.

This is so unmarketable!

The Song Dynasty Jiaozi should be fully connected and adopted!
Use Jiaozi to achieve rapid development of business.

As long as the business develops, will you still be worried about not being able to repay the loan from Emperor Zhao?
Even if you can't pay back the principal, you can at least pay back the interest!

……

Half an hour later.

In the east hall of Funing Palace, Zhao Xu walked slowly in the palace.

Xing Shu followed closely behind him.

As for Yitian and Li Ziyi, they were sent back to Kaibao Temple after signing their names on the treaty that Zhao Xu had prepared for them long ago.

"Is the scholar very nervous?" Zhao Xu observed Xing Shu's expression.

At this time, Xing Shu had calmed down from the excitement brought by Zhang Yi's cosplay, and was more or less a little nervous.

The reason for my anxiety is not because I am worried about being blamed.

But he didn't get into the role at the beginning.

As a result, some things that he should have said had to be said by the emperor.

So that there is time for holiness!

It's really a sin!

"I dare not..." Xing Shu lowered his head and replied, "That is..."

"I am a humble minister, and I have failed to live up to your majesty's expectations..."

Xing Shu has now come to his senses and knows that today's events were supposed to be a double act!

Zhao Xu turned around and looked at Xing Shu. He laughed and said, "It doesn't matter!"

"This is the first time I've done something like this, I don't have much experience!"

"Do it a few more times, and the scholar and I will become proficient!"

The political system and social culture of the Song Dynasty were not expansionist like those of the Han and Tang Dynasties.

But very introverted and conservative.

Without prior notice or rehearsal, it would take some time to adapt to even the punishment.

But it's okay.

Do it a few more times and your coordination will improve.

"Yes!" Xing Shu bowed quickly.

"Bachelor..."

"Chen is here!"

"The scholar is well-educated, has mastered the Six Classics, and is familiar with the classics of past dynasties..."

"In your opinion, what is the current situation of the world?" Zhao Xu asked.

Xing Shu naturally bowed and replied: "I am ignorant and hope that Your Majesty will teach me!"

Zhao Xu raised his head and looked at the pavilions outside the palace and the walls of the imperial city.

"This world is full of..."

"In my eyes, it has been a huge dining table since ancient times!"

“Only big and powerful countries can sit at the table to eat…”

"I am a small country, and I can only be a dish on this table, and be taken at the request of the big country!"

(End of this chapter)