I served as an admonisher in the Song Dynasty

Chapter 475: Great Su Jingming! Di Qing: You are responsible for talking and I am responsible for fighting, how about that?
April 26th, noon.

Su Liang received information that the Conago and Yogong tribes were destroyed.

These two tribes, one with 5,000 people and nearly 2,000 warriors, and the other with 2,000 people and nearly 700 warriors, can be regarded as medium-to-large tribes in the northwest of the Tibetan tribes.

Of course, it still cannot be compared with Qingtang Tubo.

If they had not offended the Song Dynasty, their leader had been captured, some of their followers had fled, and the surrounding tribes would not have dared to help them.

It was impossible for the soldiers sent by Weiming Xude to destroy their lair so quickly.

The property seized by the Western Xia people will basically be handed over to the Song Dynasty as compensation for "plundering Xihe Town". Qi Fei, the commander of the garrison camp in Xihe Town of Qinfeng Road, has received a notice and sent people to contact them.

This is the benefit of a hard fist.

Ten years ago, the Song Dynasty would not have enjoyed such treatment.

……

afternoon.

Liu Cun, the prefect of Qinzhou, submitted a case file to Su Liang. After interrogation, the leaders of the four tribes would be sentenced to death by beheading. After Su Liang nodded, the sentence would be carried out.

After reading it, Su Liang said, "No problem."

Liu Cun asked again: "What should we do with the Nazang and Acailuo tribes? Should we also destroy them like the Xixia people..."

Before Liu Cun finished speaking, Su Liang shook his head.

"No, although these two tribes participated in the looting, they basically did not kill or injure anyone. They were also forced to do so. The leader should be executed if he is guilty. As for the tribe members, the warriors who participated in the looting should be captured and used as laborers to expand Xihe Town. As for the others, let them fend for themselves!"

"Okay, I'll do it right away." Liu Cun nodded.

After Su Liang arrived at Xihe Town, he first destroyed the Tuowo tribe, and then forced Xixia to destroy the Conago tribe and the Yogong tribe. Although he seemed cruel, he had actually always followed the laws of the Song Dynasty, killing those who should be killed and sparing those who should be spared.

Everything was done very fairly.

Just as Liu Cun was about to leave, Su Liang suddenly stopped him and said, "The incident in Xihe Town has caused such a big stir, but Qingtang Tubo has not responded at all. Don't you think it's a bit strange?"

Liu Cun was stunned, then suddenly realized.

"Yes! If they knew it was Xixia who ordered them two years ago, they would have asked to attack Xixia with us. I will send someone to investigate."

Su Liang nodded.

……

An hour later, Liu Cun came back again.

"Central Prime Minister Su, there is new news. After Achailuo, the leader of the Achailuo tribe, learned that he would be beheaded, he said he had important intelligence to report involving Qingtang Tubo. He said he could only tell you the details after he saw you."

Su Liang frowned slightly and said, "Let's go to the prison."

After a while.

Su Liang appeared in an interrogation room in Xihe Town Prison.

A short but strong man, about thirty years old, was tied to a standing wooden stake.

This person is Achailuo.

The Achailuo tribe has only 300 people and less than 100 warriors. Such a tribe may be destroyed tomorrow. However, the Achailuo tribe has been maneuvering among multiple tribes and has been established for several years, remaining stable. It can be seen that it has some capabilities.

Immediately.

Su Liang sat on a big chair and asked, "Achailuo, I am Su Liang. What do you want to tell this Zhongcheng?"

Achailuo looked at the ropes on his body.

"Let me go first and let me sit down and talk!"

Hearing this, Liu Sandao, who was standing beside Su Liang, glared and clenched his fists. As long as Su Liang gave the order, he would immediately beat him up.

"Untie him and let him sit down!" Su Liang said.

Immediately, the yamen runner nearby untied the rope and brought a bench over to him.

Achailuo was very weak at this time, and there were two yamen runners standing on both sides, so there was no possibility for him to launch a sneak attack on Su Liang.

After Ah Chailuo sat down, he took a moment to calm down before saying, "Central Minister Su, the information I want to share is related to Qingtang Tubo, Liao, and the safety of the Song Dynasty's border. If I tell you, you must agree to two of my conditions."

"Acailuo, you are not qualified to negotiate now!" Liu Cun said angrily.

Su Liang smiled and said, "Whether you agree or not depends on what information I heard. You can talk about the conditions first."

"You definitely made a profit!" Achailuo continued, "My two conditions are, first, let me go back to the tribe; second, don't pursue the matter of looting my tribe anymore. If my tribe doesn't offend the Song Dynasty in the future, the Song Dynasty cannot attack my tribe."

After listening to this, Su Liang shook his head.

"Impossible, it's impossible not to kill you. All the warriors of the Acailuo tribe who participated in the looting of Xihe Town will also become laborers of Xihe Town. Depending on their performance, we will decide whether to give them freedom in the future. This is the rule of my Great Song Dynasty. I will not break it, let alone break it!"

"Then...then...you...by doing this, aren't you making the elders, children, and women of my tribe the prey of other tribes?"

"Su Liang, you...you will regret it, you will definitely regret it!"

Achailuo had a ferocious look on his face. He stood up and wanted to rush towards Su Liang, but as soon as his buttocks left the chair, he was pinned down by two yamen runners.

If he really rushed over.

Liu Sandao could kick him half to death with just one kick.

Su Liang thought for a moment and said, "Let me make a condition. If the information you provided is indeed of great value, I can send people to the Acailuo tribe to inform the elders, children, and women that if they are willing to become citizens of Xihe Town, they can come to live in Xihe Town. If they are not willing, then forget it. Moreover, if they violate the laws of the Great Song Dynasty when they come to Xihe Town, they will also be expelled."

"This is the only condition I can agree to from you, and it is based on the fact that the information you provided is indeed worthwhile. What do you think?" Su Liang looked at Acailuo.

Achailuo looked depressed, as he had thought he could survive with this information.

I didn’t expect that I still couldn’t survive.

Su Liang added: "You only have ten breaths to think about it."

Ah Chai Luo's face was solemn, his lips were bitten and bleeding. When ten breaths were about to pass and Su Liang was about to get up and leave, he said, "I'll tell you, I'll tell you."

"I...I am from Dong Jian, the third son of Zuo Silu, the leader of the Tibetan tribe of Qingtang."

"Dong Zhen also knew that our four tribes looted Xihe Town. I told him in advance. As for whether Zuo Silu and his eldest son Xia Zhen and second son Mo Zhenjiao knew about it, I don't know."

"However, Dong Zhen has secretly formed an alliance with the Liao Kingdom. The Liao Emperor, Yelu Zongzhen, has betrothed his daughter, the Khitan Princess Xiling Jiemu, to Dong Zhen. Dong Zhen wants to join forces with the Liao Kingdom to destroy the Western Xia. Yelu Zongzhen promised that he would turn Dong Zhen into the second Li Yuanhao of the Western Xia and make him the king of the Western Xia!"

Su Liang was shocked to hear the news.

He finally understood why Qingtang Tubo took a wait-and-see attitude towards the affairs of Xihe Town.

There must have been debate within Qingtang Tubo.

Judging from their current attitude, they want to sit on the mountain and watch the fight between the Song Dynasty and the Western Xia.

Qingtang Tubo was no longer a true ally of the Song Dynasty.

They felt that the Liao Kingdom could give them what they wanted, so they chose the Liao Kingdom.

This information is of great value.

Su Liang slowly stood up, looked at Achailuo, and said, "Achailuo, don't worry, I will fulfill my promise."

After saying that, Su Liang turned and left.

Achailuo slumped to the ground, deeply regretting having taken part in the looting of Xihe Town.

Inside the corridor of the government office.

Liu Cun said: "Su Zhongcheng, what should we do next? Should we condemn Qingtang Tubo or even attack them directly?"

Su Liang shook his head slightly.

"Just pretend you don't know! Although the Tibetan tribes in the northwest are in chaos, if we turn against Qingtang Tibetan now, it will unite the Tibetan tribes. I have my own ideas. I promised Acailuo what to do, so you should arrange it quickly!"

"Yes." Liu Cun agreed without asking any more questions.

Although the marriage between Dong Zhan of Qingtang Tubo and Liao Kingdom was a surprise to Su Liang.

But this is more in line with Su Liang's plan.

Qingtang Tubo is unreliable.

Then expand the border to Qinghai Lake and completely cut off the right arm of Western Xia.

Then they directly formed an alliance with the more distant Uighurs (also called Xizhou Uighurs and Kucha Uighurs) and the Black Khan to open up the Silk Road.

……

On April 28th, at four o'clock in the morning, the sky was just beginning to brighten.

Yang Hu, the chief of Xihe Town, was standing on the city gate and patrolling when he suddenly saw a cloud of dust rising in the distance and was startled.

"Could it be... Could it be that there are enemies attacking? But this column of cavalry looks like there are less than a hundred people!"

Yang Hu waved his hand.

The soldiers on duty immediately became alert and came to the city wall with weapons and bows and arrows.

Just when Yang Hu was about to send troops to seek support from Qi Fei's troops on the other side.

Suddenly I saw a flag flying in front of me with one word written on it: Di.

then.

He saw the leader, riding a tall black horse with his hair scattered on both sides.

Getting closer.

"That... that can't be Prime Minister Di Shu!"

Soon, Yang Hu saw the face of the person who came. Di Qing had been stationed in the northwest for a long time, and Yang Hu had also seen him.

"Open the city gate, open the city gate quickly, it's Prime Minister Di Shu who is here, it's Prime Minister Di Shu who is here!" Yang Hu shouted excitedly, and then ran towards the city gate.

The surrounding soldiers were also very excited when they heard this.

Di Qing can be said to be the idol of every Western soldier. He rose from a criminal sent into exile to the highest official in the army, the Privy Councilor.

There was only one such person in the entire Song Dynasty. More importantly, Di Qing was able to get along well with the lower-level soldiers.

The Western soldiers were all convinced by Di Qing, and no one would say anything bad about him.

soon.

The city gate was wide open and Di Qing rushed over with his guards.

At the city gate, Yang Hu shouted, "Xihe Town Captain Yang Hu, I pay my respects to Prime Minister Di Shu!"

"Greetings to Prime Minister Di Shu!" The soldiers guarding the city all bowed and saluted.

At this moment, Di Qing was sweating all over.

The clothes on his body were wet and dry, dry and wet, and his face and head were covered with sand and dust.

The journey was supposed to take four days, but he managed to arrive in two and a half days.

Di Qing looked at Yang Hu and asked, "Captain Yang, is Su Zhongcheng still in Xihe Town?"

"here I am!"

Hearing this, Di Qing let out a long sigh and said, "Quickly lead the way, I will go to see Su Zhongcheng."

"I will obey your orders!"

Seeing that Di Qing must have something urgent to do, Yang Hu did not dare to delay for a moment and immediately pulled a horse to lead the way.

soon.

Di Qing came to the house behind the government office where Su Liang lived.

Liu Sandao and two Longyu Army soldiers who were on guard outside the house saluted immediately after seeing Di Qing.

"Meet Prime Minister Di Shu!"

Di Qing ignored the three people and walked straight to Su Liang's door.

He raised his fist and was about to break down the door.

But just when his fist was about to hit the door, he retracted it and muttered, "Let's wait until he wakes up!"

After saying this, Di Qing sat down on the steps not far away, with a gloomy face and no words.

Liu Sandao was very shocked.

Di Qing had always been very respectful to Su Liang. Not to mention banging on the door, he had never spoken a harsh word to Su Liang.

But today's behavior is really weird.

Liu Sandao looked at Yang Hu, and Yang Hu shook his head in confusion.

He knew nothing, dared not even breathe, and could only stand aside.

Gradually, the sky became brighter.

The door slowly opened, Su Liang walked out of the room, and immediately saw Liu Sandao and Yang Hu standing upright not far away.

Su Liang asked in confusion: "What are you two doing standing there?"

Liu Sandao and Yang Hu looked at Di Qing under Su Liang's nose at the same time.

Su Liang followed their gaze and looked towards the steps at the side, then saw Di Qing standing up with a dark face.

His hair was disheveled, his fists were clenched, and his face was as gloomy as a lead cloud that was brewing a lot of rain.

Such expressions.

Placing it on the battlefield can also scare away several enemy soldiers.

"Prime Minister Di Shu, when did you come?" Su Liang was very surprised.

Di Qing strode into Su Liang's house without saying a word.

Su Liang instantly knew what Di Qing was going to do, and immediately waved to Liu Sandao and others, signaling them to stand outside and not listen to the conversation between the two. Then he walked into the house and closed the door.

Inside the house, the two sat opposite each other.

Seeing that Di Qing was covered in dust and looked a little tired, Su Liang quickly poured him a glass of water.

Di Qing did not raise the cup, but questioned Su Liang: "Jingming, your plan is too risky, I don't agree with it!"

"At present, we clearly have the strength to expand our borders by force. I guarantee that within three months, we can expand to the border of Xixia in the north and Qingtang City in the west. There will be no danger and our losses will not be great."

Su Liang shook his head.

"Brother Hanchen, I have made up my mind. Persuading them to surrender is the best strategy."

Su Liang’s bold plan is——

He planned to lead a small number of soldiers to go abroad to recruit the foreign tribes in the northwest, intending to make all the foreign tribes in the Hehuang area, except the Qingtang Tubo, surrender to the Song Dynasty without spending a single soldier.

Then, Di Qing led the army to expand the border, quickly occupied the Hehuang area, and caught the Western Xia off guard.

Su Liang asked Yang Hu and one-armed Lao Qiao to count the tribal conditions in the Hehuang area in order to do this.

If some tribes were extremely evil and murderous, Su Liang would skip them and let Di Qing surrender them by force.

There are three benefits to Su Liang doing this:

First, reduce casualties and win people’s hearts and minds.

Expanding the border by force is bound to result in great casualties. If the Hehuang area is flooded with blood and the foreigners become enemies with the Western Song troops, even if Hehuang is occupied, internal strife will continue, making future management very difficult.

Second, military conquest would easily induce Qingtang Tubo and Xixia to prepare in advance.

Once the Song Dynasty sent troops, the latter would see through the Song Dynasty's purpose of expanding its borders, and Western Xia would most likely start a war in advance. Qingtang Tubo might also unite with other tribes to resist.

As the Song Dynasty expands its borders, the army will reach the doorstep of Qingtang Tubo, and they cannot help but be afraid.

Even if Su Liang's strategy of persuading surrender was known to Xixia and Qingtang Tubo in advance, they might not be able to guess what the Song Dynasty was going to do at that moment. Even if they did, if they started a war first, they would lose the initiative and would have to consider a lot.

Third, Su Liang was willing to use the act of persuading the world to surrender to tell the world that the Song Dynasty’s expansion of its borders was not an invasion, but an act of assistance.

After all, the barbarians are a foreign race. If you surrender by force, they will subconsciously resist, and it will be a fight to the death.

But if Su Liang promises various conditions that are beneficial to the people and respects their needs, the vast majority of peace-loving tribes who hope to live a stable and prosperous life will definitely be willing to embrace the Song Dynasty.

This is also what Su Liang values ​​most and is willing to take risks to do.

As for the downside, there is only one.

Su Liang's life might be in danger.

The vast Gobi Desert is covered with mountains and rivers.

Any laws, civilization, and rules may not exist. What matters is means and fists.

Su Liang was in close combat with various tribes. Even with his troops, he would have to march at least two thousand miles.

If they encounter bad weather or are besieged and pursued by other tribes, they may lose their lives.

Di Qing understood all these principles and knew they were good strategies, but in his eyes, expanding the border to the northwest was not as important as Su Liang alone.

Seeing Su Liang's firm tone, Di Qing couldn't help but ask, "Jingming, do you have to go? Can't someone else go? Can I go with you? You're responsible for talking, and I'm responsible for fighting."

Su Liang smiled helplessly and shook his head.

"Brother Hanchen, don't forget your responsibilities. After Mr. Fan left, you are the pillar of the northwest. The northwest can do without me, Su Liang, but it can never do without you, Di Hanchen. You must never take risks!"

"Oh!" Di Qing sighed.

"Then let's report it to the court, and wait until the emperor and the ministers agree, then you can go. Otherwise, it would be a serious crime, and I think the emperor and the ministers would definitely not agree."

Su Liang smiled helplessly.

"I am a favorite of the court, but I have been spoiled by the emperor and the ministers!"

"If I tell them about this in advance, they will definitely not agree. But I am confident that I can do this well, and then the merits and demerits will be offset."

"The Hehuang area should not be flooded with blood, and our Song Dynasty's expansion of borders should not be called an invasion of the barbarians. We are helping them. If I can do this, even if I am scolded by the emperor and the ministers, I will be satisfied!"

"Everyone has something to pursue in life. If Mr. Fan were still alive and heard my idea, he would definitely go there in person, fearlessly and bravely."

Hearing this, Di Qing nodded in approval. Based on Fan Zhongyan's character, he might really do this.

"Then...what are your plans next?"

Di Qing's words showed that he had been convinced by Su Liang.

Su Liang smiled and said, "I have recently looked at the situation of some tribes. Some tribes are quite friendly. Tomorrow, Mr. Qiao and his team will be able to finish writing the situation of each tribe. I plan to take 200 people and set off on the first day of May."

"Two hundred people? No, no, that's too few! There are five hundred people in the Longyu Army, you must take them all away!" Di Qing said seriously.

"No! Once we go abroad, eating, drinking, defecating and urinating will all be problems. The more people we have, the bigger the target will be, and the more hostile those tribes will be towards us. Two hundred people are enough."

"We bring bows and crossbows, and firearms, which are enough to deal with a tribe of 2,000 warriors. There are very few tribes of this size. I have made this decision after careful consideration. I guarantee that there will be no problem."

"Also, when I leave, I will present a letter to the officials explaining everything, and you will be unaware of this."

"If the emperor and the other officials are very angry and ask you to chase me, you can just pretend or say that you don't know where I am and it's difficult to catch up. This matter has nothing to do with you. Don't speak for me, otherwise it will be bad if you are called back by the emperor!"

"When my journey is going smoothly and is about to end, I will send someone to send you a message to inform you of the situation of persuading you to surrender. By then, you will lead the army to expand the border, which will surely be quite smooth!" Su Liang said with a smile, feeling very relaxed.

Di Qing looked at Su Liang's brilliant smile, stood up and bowed deeply to Su Liang.

"Jingming, it is a blessing for the Song Dynasty, the government, the people of the world, and all the tribes in the Hehuang region to have you!"

"Okay, there's no need to praise us like that. I would blush too."

When Di Qing heard this, he finally revealed a slightly helpless smile.

……

Note: The expansion of the border in the northwest by the censor Su Jingming is naturally different from the expansion of the border by Wang Shao in history. The Song Dynasty did not invade, but helped, making the lives of the people in the northwest stable, the ethnic groups united and friendly, and the trade prosperous. This is what the literati did.

(End of this chapter)