People in the Song Dynasty were lawless

Chapter 345 He is the real one!
In the sixth year of Qingli in the Song Dynasty, in March of the fifteenth year of Chongxi in the Liao Dynasty.

The Yinshan Mountains tower into the clouds, and the sky seems to have sown countless grass seeds from the sky at the beginning of the year, making the earth full of vitality and full of spring scenery.

But after spring came in March, the weather did not get hotter, but instead remained cold.

The cold wind blowing from Siberia constantly disturbs the northern prairie. Compared with the spring breeze in the south of the Yangtze River, the spring breeze in Monan is like a sharp knife and a gentle hand.

In the howling north wind, the savagely growing weeds fluttered in the wind, as if they were about to be swept away by the cold and harsh wind, fluttering into the sky.

Sometimes, if you encounter extremely cold air currents, it may even snow in the Mobei grassland in June.

However, although the wind is strong, the temperature does not drop below ten degrees. It only feels cold at night. The sun was shining warmly during the day, mixed with the fierce north wind, making people wonder whether it was cold or hot.

On the grassland of Dongsheng Prefecture, a huge team was slowly driving from the east, heading south, passing Yulin County, and heading toward the southwest.

This Dongsheng State is not Dongsheng Shenzhou, but the southwestmost state of Liao Kingdom.

It was probably located in the Ordos City of Inner Mongolia in later generations. At this time, it bordered the Song Dynasty and Xixia. To the south was Fengzhou, Fuzhou, and Huoshanjun on the Hedong Road of the Song Dynasty, and to the west was Henan Prefecture of Xixia.

The most famous thing here, besides the fact that Ordos was once a place rich in coal resources, is the Mausoleum of Genghis Khan.

At this time, a large carpet had been placed on the slope, like a picnic cloth, with dried beef and mutton, as well as various fine wines and teas placed on it.

However, due to the growing power of the Song Dynasty, the frictions that might have triggered the Liao-Xia War ended up being abandoned because of the threat of the Song Dynasty, forcing the two sides to join forces and become a close alliance.

It is as if Wu and Shu were hostile to the Wei State together, but this does not mean that the hatred between Wu State's previous sneak attack on Jingzhou and the subsequent battle of Yiling has been resolved in this way.

Xixia also had Henan Prefecture, which was located southwest of Ordos in later generations and was named because it was south of the upper reaches of the Yellow River.

Yelv Zongzhen had already dismounted, walked over, took his hand cordially and said with a smile: "King Xia, we have always communicated with each other between Liao and Xia, and you are also the commander-in-chief of our Liao Kingdom, so you are your own brother." More kisses."

"The king of Xia is very polite."

But now that Li Yuanhao had been defeated in three battles and was beaten so hard that he was running around in a panic, how could he still have the right to claim to be an emperor?

Li Yuanhao lowered his head slightly to hide the displeasure in his eyes.

However, after the Liao-Song War, the Liao State slightly tightened its military strength in the border areas, especially the Heqing Army and Jin Su Army, which were moved to Ningbian Prefecture in the south to mainly deal with the Song Dynasty.

So this area became a no-care zone for a while. Some herdsmen would come here to graze, or herdsmen from the Western Xia and Liao Kingdoms would come here to exchange trade.

He speaks Liao dialect. The Li family has been on both sides of the Liao and Song Dynasty since his grandfather, so their family can speak both Liao and Song dialects.

However, since this place was still nominally the territory of the Liao Kingdom, Yelv Zongzhen still crossed the Yellow River and continued to the southwest for about ten kilometers, which was almost the urban area of ​​Ordos in later generations, and then arrived at the place agreed upon by both parties.

Li Yuanhao raised his head.

At this moment, the young Yelu Zongzhen was riding on horseback, looking at the vast grassland in the distance.

At the age of thirty, he still didn't know that further south, about fifty or sixty kilometers away from here across the Yellow River, a big man who was countless times more powerful than him would be buried here 181 years later.

The location of the convoy is on the border of Liao and Xia, and the specific location is basically around the later Ordos City.

After the two parties drank, they looked at each other and smiled, and then Li Yuanhao began to talk about the business: "Your Majesty must also know about that."

Since you are going to have an alliance, you must have the etiquette of an alliance.

"King Xia, let's sit down and talk."

This is something agreed upon by both parties.

At the same time, a huge team also appeared here on the southwest bank of the Yellow River in the distance, perhaps more than 20 kilometers away from the Yellow River.

"Thank you, His Majesty the Emperor of Liao Kingdom, for your love."

The wild grass on the mountains swayed gently in the wind, the horses' hooves trampled the soil, and the air seemed to be filled with the fragrance of green grass.

The Xixia team in front stopped three or four kilometers away, and then dozens of riders came out and galloped towards the hillside where he was.

He had always been ambitious, and naturally he not only wanted to be emperor, but also wanted to establish a powerful third-party empire between the Liao and Song countries, and even wanted to annex the Song Dynasty's Shaanxi Road.

After all, in addition to the friction with the Song Dynasty, Xixia also had a gap with the Liao Kingdom on the border due to competition for herdsmen, the Jiashan tribe, Princess Xingping, Shannan party tribes, etc.

The vast grassland is vast, and there are large undulating hills in the southwest. On a small hill, Yelu Zongzhen stopped. The Liao army behind him was a little farther away, a mile or two away.

Li Yuanhao slowly came to the bottom of the hillside. He first raised his head and looked up at Yelv Zongzhen who was overlooking the mountain. A flash of hatred flashed in his eyes, and then he buried it deeply in his heart. He took a few deep breaths, turned over and dismounted and walked down the slope. He bowed with the Liao salute and said, "I have met His Majesty the Emperor of the Liao Dynasty."

If Li Yuanhao defeated the Song Dynasty and the Liao Kingdom one after another as in history, then it would definitely not be Li Yuanhao who came to see Yelu Zongzhen, but the two sides would meet at the same time.

But this does not mean that Li Yuanhao truly formed an alliance with Yelu Zong.

The two of them sat cross-legged facing each other. Li Yuanhao raised his glass and said, "I would like to propose a toast to Your Majesty first."

Therefore, he was forced to cut himself off as king just after ascending to the throne of God, and once again surrendered to both the Liao Kingdom and the Song Dynasty. When the leaders of the two sides met this time, naturally only Li Yuanhao went to see Yelu Zong for his true identity.

For this reason, when he attacked the Song Dynasty, he was already prepared for the same war with the Liao Kingdom in the future.

"King Xia, no courtesy!"

If history changes and the Prime Minister succeeds in leaving Qishan to take back the Yongliang area, revive the Han Dynasty, and return the old capital, then after the elimination of Wei, I am afraid that the next one that the Prime Minister will perish will definitely be Jiangdong to avenge Guan Yu and the former lord Liu Bei. Snow hates it.

Yelu Zongzhen smiled and raised a glass of wine.

Yelu Zongzhen took Li Yuanhao's hand and sat on the hillside together.

Yes.

The border between Xixia and Liao was actually not bounded by the Yellow River, but by the land occupied by the Liao. For this reason, the Liao also set up two armies, Heqing and Jinsu, to guard against Xixia and Song.

Yelv Zongzhen raised his hands in vain and responded with the same Liao salute.

"Ah."

Yelu Zongzhen took a knife and started to cut the meat. He frowned and said, "The Song Dynasty has changed so much in just ten years. If something that travels thousands of miles a day appears, what do you think we should do?" "

Li Yuanhao touched his cross-legged knees with his left hand, played with the wine glass with his right hand, and said in a deep voice: "Once the war starts, the Song army will reach the border in a day or two."

"Well."

Yelu Zongzhen placed a piece of cut beef in front of Li Yuanhao, and then said: "It seems that you also know, and it's not just the army, the most terrifying thing is the baggage they transported."

"Yes, the only way to fight a war is to carry baggage. If you have a lot of food and fodder, you can fight the enemy to the end. The Song State can gather the food and fodder for hundreds of thousands of troops in a matter of seconds. It can even reach our Xia Kingdom directly, as well as His Majesty's army. On the Liao border, this is very scary."

Li Yuanhao sighed: "This means that they can fight with us at the border for a long time, but our baggage has to be transported from far away. Whether it is a stalemate or a fight, it will be very detrimental to us." "God forbid. We are protecting the Song Dynasty."

Yelu Zongzhen also sighed, threw away the knife in his hand, and wiped his hands with a piece of cloth.

"Your Majesty, I think there is something fishy about this matter."

"Oh? What do you say?"

"Since the Song Dynasty has changed over the years, I have been trying to bribe the servants of the Song Dynasty palace."

"Is there any result?"

"There have been no results before. Those Song Dynasty servants, whether they are maids or eunuchs, will not leave the palace. It was not until last year that I found a way to find the maid who went home to visit her relatives and spent a lot of money to buy information."

"what news?"

"These things are probably related to Zhao Jun, the current magistrate of the Political Academy of the Song Dynasty."

Li Yuanhao said firmly.

"Zhao Jun?"

Yelu Zongzhen frowned and said: "I know this person, but it is said that he is from the Zhao family clan. Apart from investigating corrupt officials and rectifying the court, there is nothing special about him."

Zhao Jun has actually been hiding very well over the years.

If you put aside Zhao Zhen and the prime ministers in the Constitutional Yuan who know the inside story, and look at him from an outsider's perspective, you will find that he is actually very low-key.

First of all, in the military, no one knows that he invented granular gunpowder.

After all, gunpowder existed in the Song Dynasty, and firearms such as muskets and cannons had their original prototypes in the Song Dynasty, and they were not foreign products.

Fan Zhongyan was also doing the marching and fighting. At least in the eyes of Liao and Xixia, Fan Zhongyan was much more famous than Zhao Jun.

The second is invention and creation.

Zhao Jun does not have the title of great inventor on his head. Now the number one inventor in the Song Dynasty is Zhao Zhen.

Many strange and weird things were spread by Zhao Zhen and had almost nothing to do with Zhao Jun.

The last thing is reform.

The main vanguard is naturally Fan Zhongyan, and then the Political Yuan headed by Zhao Jun and the Emperor Zhao Zhen of the Song Dynasty provide full support.

Therefore, in the eyes of outsiders, all reforms and military affairs in the Song Dynasty were stronger than Fan Zhongyan alone.

Invention, creation, and promotion of science and technology, mathematics, physics and chemistry education were all done by the emperor Zhao Zhen.

These things have nothing to do with Zhao Jun at all.

So what is Zhao Jun doing?
He used the authority of the Zhiyuan to rectify the government, eliminate cancer, investigate corrupt officials, eliminate gangs and evil, maintain local security, and fully supported Fan Zhongyan's reforms.

Any wise prime minister in ancient times could do these things, and even King Lu Yijian had no problem doing it.

Therefore, in addition to being younger and having a strange way of ascending to the throne, his popularity and reputation among the people of the Song Dynasty are actually not as good as those of Zhao Zhen and Fan Zhongyan, currently ranking third.

Even though he is ranked third in popularity, it is because he cleared away the cancer in Kaifeng Mansion, patrolled the country, and did many things that made the people applaud. Most people regard him as the Grand Master of Qingtian, almost replacing Bao Zheng's status.

If the truth is not revealed in later generations, the most dazzling people in Renzong's dynasty in the future will definitely be Zhao Zhen and Fan Zhongyan.

Zhao Zhen was the wisest monarch. He promoted mathematics, physics and chemistry, advocated science and technology, and led the Song Dynasty on the road to becoming a technological power.

Fan Zhongyan not only had strong military capabilities, but he could also preside over reforms, eliminate shortcomings, and complete the changes to the Song Dynasty system. He gave the Song Dynasty a new look in all aspects and turned it into two countries that were different from the Song Dynasty before!

Future generations may even wonder why it was Zhao Jun who became the magistrate instead of Fan Zhongyan.

So in summary, Xixia and Liao have been attracted by Zhao Zhen and Fan Zhongyan in recent years, and they all think that their biggest enemies are these two.

But at this time, Li Yuanhao said that Zhao Jun was the most terrifying person, which naturally made Yelu Zong really feel strange.

However, Li Yuanhao shook his head and said: "According to the news that the palace maid I bribed told me, this person suddenly appeared in the palace ten years ago. Zhao Zhen and the prime minister at the time talked with him in the back garden every day. Isn't this a strange thing. "

"Indeed, maybe this person has extraordinary talents, like Zhuge is still alive, so they are surprised? Or maybe he is a member of the Zhao family, just like the rumor that Zhao Heng left his pregnant son."

"But Your Majesty, I wonder if you have discovered something?"

"what's up?"

Yelu Zongzhen asked.

"What are the changes between the Song Dynasty ten years ago, or even more than that, and the Song Dynasty today?"

"Of course it's earth-shaking."

"But Zhao Jun only appeared in the Song Dynasty ten years ago. I have never heard of this person before."

"what do you mean?"

"What is the difference between Fan Zhongyan and ordinary senior officials of the Song Dynasty ten years ago? What is the difference between Zhao Zhen and the original emperor of the Song Dynasty ten years ago?"

Li Yuanhao said categorically: "But since Zhao Jun came, they seem to have changed. The weapons and equipment of the Song Dynasty are completely new, and the national reform is also proceeding in an orderly manner. Even Zhao Zhen can do strange things, Your Majesty Don’t you feel something strange?”

After he said this, Yelv Zong suddenly realized what he was saying.

Yes.

They were all attracted by the changes in Zhao Zhen and Fan Zhongyan in the past, but they ignored why they had such changes.

Because they are too far away, the things they observe can only be seen through their appearance, and the essence cannot be known.

But Li Yuanhao finally bribed the palace maid and discovered that Zhao Jun appeared inexplicably in the palace ten years ago, and as soon as he appeared, the Song Dynasty began to look different.

If there is no connection between them, then it is a ghost.

"The King of Xia reminded me that I realized that yes, it was after he appeared that the Song Dynasty experienced such earth-shaking changes. There must be a big secret in this person!"

Yelu Zongzhen's expression became serious. No wonder that person became the President of the Political Academy and could command hundreds of officials.

I used to be confused by Zhao Zhen and Fan Zhongyan, but I didn’t know that he was the real one!

(End of this chapter)