I served as an admonisher in the Song Dynasty

Chapter 508: Song-Liao Friction! Conservative Pang Ji vs. Radical Han Qi

Early March.

As spring arrives and flowers bloom and the green becomes more abundant, good news comes one after another from the Northwest.

The five armies led by Di Qing had advanced northward for more than 800 miles and occupied most of the Hengshan area.

The Western Xia army's defense was very limited.

Basically, it still adheres to the tactical style that Li Yuanhao used before.

On the one hand, he ordered people to secretly dig a canal to break the water of the Yellow River and flood the Song camp; on the other hand, he sent light cavalry to cut off the Song army's food supply and set many traps to trap horses on the road.

Unfortunately, it had little effect, which was exactly what Di Qing had expected.

At last.

The Western Xia people adopted the strategy of clearing the countryside and gathered their main forces in Xiangqing Prefecture and Xiazhou.

The intention was to rely on the solidity of the city to extend the battle line and time and resist the army of the Song Dynasty.

Thanks to the advance deployment of the three divisions and the transportation of food and fodder from the northwestern people, the Song army's logistical supply this time was quite sufficient.

The Song soldiers became more and more confident as the battle went on.

Di Qing predicted that if he could successfully capture Xiangqing Prefecture and Xiazhou in April, he would most likely be able to destroy Western Xia in July, without having to wait until the Mid-Autumn Festival.

……

at the same time.

Japan and Goryeo also fought fiercely and the battle was extremely brutal.

Japanese troops have occupied the coastal areas of Goryeo.

While shrinking its defenses, the Goryeo army asked the Liao Kingdom for help and even sent a letter to the Song Dynasty, proposing a number of conditions, including ceding territory, paying annual tribute, and becoming a vassal.

But neither Song nor Liao paid any attention to it.

Goryeo’s reputation is now in ruins.

Any country that dares to help it will inevitably be strongly condemned by neighboring countries.

The war between the two countries also affected maritime trade.

The prices of food, ironware, cloth and other materials rose rapidly.

In order to raise food and fodder, the Japanese court sold large amounts of silver, gold, sulfur, firewood, etc. at low prices.

Cao Hu joined forces with a number of Song merchants and made decisive acquisitions, earning a fortune and gaining more and more control over Japan's maritime trade.

Everything is moving in a direction that is beneficial to the Song Dynasty.

……

March 10th, early morning.

Su Liang came to the courtyard of the Censorate and made a pot of tea.

I was just about to drink while reading the official newspaper.

A palace eunuch walked in quickly.

"Central Minister Su, early this morning, an urgent report of the military situation in Hebei Province was sent to the Imperial Palace. The Emperor orders you to go to the Chuigong Palace immediately to discuss the matter."

Su Liang frowned slightly.

"Urgent military intelligence report from Hebei Road? Could it be that there was a conflict on the Song-Liao border and a fight broke out?"

"Okay, I'll go right away." Su Liang nodded.

present.

The Western Army of the Song Dynasty was fighting fiercely with the Western Xia.

Zhao Zhen repeatedly instructed Pang Ji and Han Qi, the main officers stationed in Hebei Road, to strictly guard the border and not to conflict with Liao for the time being.

This year, the Liao Dynasty not only had internal strife among the Jurchens and infighting between the Crown Prince Yelü Chongyuan and the First Prince Yelü Hongji, but the Liao Emperor Yelü Zongzhen also had health problems.

Both sides knew that the other did not want an all-out war.

If a fight broke out due to some accident, Su Liang would be very reluctant to see it.

Immediately.

Su Liang changed into his official robe and hat and walked quickly towards the Chuigong Hall.

……

A quarter of an hour later.

When Su Liang walked into the Chuigong Hall, Zhao Zhen and the ministers of the two governments and three ministries were already inside.

immediately.

Deputy Privy Councilor Zeng Gongliang handed the three documents to Su Liang and said, "Read them in order."

Su Liang nodded.

The first document was jointly signed by Pang Ji and Han Qi.

The content is: Late at night three days ago, some Han people from Youzhou, Yanyun, sneaked across the Baigou River on the border between Song and Liao.

Two boats, twelve people in total.

When these twelve people reached the middle of the Baigou River, they were discovered by both Liao and Song soldiers.

The Liao soldiers shot arrows into the river.

He also shouted: These 12 Han people are bandits from the Liao State who fled because they violated Liao laws, and the Song Dynasty must not let them go ashore.

but.

However, these Han people told the Song soldiers on the other side of the river that they were deeply oppressed by the Liao soldiers and could not survive, so they wanted to return to the Song.

The Song soldiers heard this.

He immediately shot arrows at the Liao soldiers on the other side of the river, and then helped the twelve Han people to reach the other side of the river.

This happened half an hour later.

The Liao Dynasty's defending general Yelu Tiancheng shouted on the river bank, asking the Song Dynasty to return the 12 Han people so as not to disrupt the peace between Song and Liao.

After Han Qi, who was on duty at the river bank, learned about this, he also shouted towards the other side of the river.

He said firmly that he would consider whether to return the 12 Han people after he had verified clearly whether they were bandits.

As a result, the troops of both sides gathered on the other side of the river and confronted each other.

present.

Both of them are very angry and may fight at any time.

That night, Pang Ji also learned about this.

After he communicated with Han Qi, they found that they had different opinions.

Han Qi believed that the return of Han people from Yanyun to the south was a sign of the prosperity of the Song Dynasty. He believed that these twelve people must be saved at all costs so that the people in the Yanyun area could see the Song Dynasty's attitude towards them, which might lead to more Han people from Yanyun returning to the Song Dynasty.

Pang Ji believed that Yanyun still belonged to the Liao Kingdom at that time, and these people were still Liao citizens and should be repatriated immediately. More than ten people could not make a big difference, but if these people were detained all the time, it would easily lead to the outbreak of war on the Song-Liao border.

The two disagreed, so they had to ask the court for instructions.

As for the remaining two documents, they were submitted by two people separately.

Pang Ji impeached Han Qi for being too extreme in his actions, eager to make achievements, always thinking about going to war with Liao and building military merits, and having no sense of the overall situation.

Han Qi felt that Pang Ji was too conservative and was still living under the shadow of the Liao Kingdom. It would be difficult for him to achieve much on the border, so he pleaded with the court to replace him.

After reading it, Su Liang placed the three documents on the imperial desk.

"What do you think?" Zhao Zhen asked.

Zhang Fangping was the first to speak: "Your Majesty, I think we should be tougher. These twelve Han people said they want to return to Song, so we agree to let them return to Song, and then we will find out whether they are good or bad. If they have committed murder, arson, theft, and looting, we will punish them according to the laws of our Song Dynasty. After all, Yanyun is the homeland of the Han and Tang Dynasties. These Han people have the same ancestors as us, while the Khitans and Jurchens have different ancestors. It is not inappropriate for us to deal with them.

After Zhang Fangping finished speaking, Fu Bi stood up.

"This move is suspected of provoking war. At present, we think that the Liao Kingdom dare not fight, but the Liao Kingdom also thinks that we are at war with Xixia and dare not fight. If a war really breaks out, both sides will suffer losses."

"I suggest that we investigate. If they are honest citizens who want to return to Song, we should keep them. If they are really bandits, we should drive them away. It is impossible to make the Han people in the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun feel a sense of belonging to us by currying favor with these dozen people."

"Even if they are Han people, if they have done something harmful to the world, I will not admit that they are Song people. This move can prevent some thieves from using the identity of Song people to commit crimes in the future."

"I agree with Prime Minister Fu." Su Liang said.

In fact, most Han people in the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun had no sense of belonging to the Song Dynasty.

When Yanyun became Liao territory, the Song Dynasty had not yet been established!
However, with the prosperity of the Song Dynasty in recent years, and the fact that the Han people in the Liao Dynasty were indeed inferior to the Khitans, many people have a good impression of the Song Dynasty.

Whether the people of Yanyun choose Song or Liao depends on who can make them live a good life.

The Song Dynasty does not want all Han people. Those who are evil to the core cannot become citizens of the Song Dynasty.

"I agree with what Prime Minister Fu said." Ouyang Xiu also spoke.

"I second the proposal!"

"I second the proposal!"

"I second the proposal!"

The other husbands also spoke up.

The current Song Dynasty does not need to please a Han citizen who is not worthy of its favor.

When the Song Dynasty recovers Yanyun, what it needs are people who agree with the laws of the Song Dynasty, not a group of hooligans who change their minds with the wind.

"Indeed, this is more proper." Zhao Zhen nodded in approval.

At this time.

Prime Minister Wen Yanbo said, "Your Majesty, I feel that the most difficult problem at the moment is not how to deal with these twelve Han people, but the fact that Pang Gong and Han Zhigui do not get along. I am afraid that they are not suitable to stay in the Hebei border at the same time. Only one of them can stay."

Zhao Zhen shook his head slightly.

"No, I think it's quite suitable, but we need someone to mediate the fight." After saying that, Zhao Zhen looked at Su Liang.

(End of this chapter)