Traveling through Tianlong: Starting from the Zhenlong chess game

Chapter 484 The messenger returns and the battle is about to begin
Zhe Zong looked at Zhao Mu and said with a smile: "Haha, I thought it was something! It turns out that the emperor's uncle wants to have full power. It seems that the emperor's uncle is planning to accept the golden trump card from Duke Defang?"

Zhao Mu shook his head and said: "That's not true. It's just that the ministers can't trust those young men. This Western Expedition is a big event and different from the past. Wherever our army goes, they will not plunder, commit adultery, or enter homes. , Do not harm the people, do not kill prisoners, and do not build capitals. This can be said to be unprecedented. If you want to implement it completely, you must enforce the law and enforce the law ruthlessly. If those senior officials make mistakes, they will return to the court. How can you convince the public by being tried and then acquitted?”

Zhe Zong said: "I just don't understand. Since ancient times, we have always been afraid of power but not immoral. Although the emperor's move is kind, is it too kind? If we don't give the barbarians a heavy blow, how can they surrender to us? "

Because Zhao Mu's move "depends on the message" is too advanced for this era. Therefore, even a wise king like Zhe Zong cannot understand it.

Zhao Mu replied: "Your Majesty, we attack Xixia to rule Xixia and then completely annex it. If we harm the people and kill them, it will inevitably cause unnecessary resistance. But if we use a gentle policy of both kindness and power, then we can Their will to resist will soon be destroyed. When the time comes, even if the generals guarding the city want to fight, the soldiers and people will not want to fight. "

"Although there has been no major conflict between the Xixia Kingdom and the Song and Liao Kingdoms over the years, the two sides have continued to make small moves. We eat Xixia like this, treat them with kindness, and let the tea, salt, and grain from the Central Plains be sold to them at parity prices in the mainland. Over time, People are determined that in the future, these border residents will not be incited to rebel by people with ulterior motives. They will even help us punish those who incite rebellion in order to live a stable life without war. "

Zhe Zong said: "But I am still a little worried. Since ancient times, massacres and looting have been the best ways to boost morale. If we prohibit it, will it affect the morale of our army?"

Zhao Mu shook his head and said: "No way, the reward system we issued before has been enough to stimulate the morale of the soldiers. Wei Chen is willing to guarantee this with his own head."

Zhe Zong said with a smile: "Haha, the emperor's uncle is serious. It's not that I can't trust the emperor, but these things are unprecedented, so I naturally have some concerns. Will the same be true for Liao in the future?"

This time Zhao Mu did shake his head. Zhao Mu said: "That's not true. The Khitans are barbarians. They are different from the Dangxiang people. Wei Chen learned about it from Princess Yinchuan. The reason why the Dangxiang tribe did not submit to Wang Hua was only because of the Chanyuan alliance between the Song Dynasty and the Liao Kingdom. This weakened the dynasty legitimacy of our Song Dynasty. This made the Dangxiang tribe who had always admired the Central Plains suddenly feel a little lost. If our Song Dynasty showed the same greatness as the former Tang Dynasty, they would be as loyal to us as they were to the former Tang Dynasty. To the last moment of dynasty change.”

Zhezong heard the words and said with a smile: "Hahaha, I have an imperial uncle to worry about! By the way! Imperial uncle, you'd better take back the golden mace first. The imperial title of the golden mace was given by Emperor Taizong, even if I don't Big, no bigger than Emperor Taizong’s golden face.”

This rainstorm came and went quickly. After the rain stopped, Zhao Mu went back to his house.

"Because the people of Dangxiang have been Chineseized before. Some Dangxiang people also speak Chinese and use Chinese characters. Regardless of their attire, they are no different from the Han people. These people can become our people through tolerant policies. Folk customs of the Dangxiang tribe They are tough and good at bow and horse. If they can be conquered, we can use them to fight the Liao army in the future, which will save us the need to train a group of cavalry. "

Zhe Zong smiled and nodded.

"As for the Khitan clan, although I do not recommend killing them all, we must not condone it. During the former Tang Dynasty, the Khitan clan surrendered and rebelled several times, and even eventually became a serious problem in the Central Plains. This was entirely because of the Central Plains dynasty. So we can no longer leave any hidden dangers to future generations. We do not need to do this kind of dirty work ourselves. The Jurchen tribe can do all the dirty work for us. Let's reconcile it. It will not only solve the Khitan people's serious problem, but also make these barbarians grateful to us. It can be said that there is no harm at all."

Zhao Mu thought for a while and then said: "In this case, it would be disrespectful for me to refuse."

Time passed day by day, and the envoy who went to Xixia Kingdom also came back.

At the court meeting that day, Zhezong called up the envoy to Xixia.

All the officials were full of surprise when they saw that his nose was bruised, his face was swollen, and several of his teeth had been knocked out. Only Zhao Mu and Zhe Zong suppressed their laughter and did not dare to break out.

Zhezong calmed down his want to laugh, and then asked: "My beloved, I know that your mission to Xixia was not going well, and I also know that you were slightly injured. I just didn't expect that you would be beaten like this. !”

The envoy knelt down in front of Zhe Zong and cried: "Your Majesty, it is clear that the King of Xixia is rude. I asked Xixia to pay tribute to our great Song Dynasty, but he not only refused to comply, but also sent people to beat the ministers with sticks." As he said, the envoy opened his mouth and opened his mouth. Mouth said, "I even had a few of my teeth knocked out by them. The officials of the Xixia Kingdom also laughed at me, 'You Han people deserve to be beaten, and you are looking for teeth all over the place!'"

Hearing this, Sima Guang couldn't help it at first.

Sima Guang stood up at this time and said seriously: "Your Majesty, the envoy is the face of a country. This Xixia barbarian has gone too far. He actually beat the envoy like this. It is simply too much! It is an insult to me. Song Guoti! Please send me your troops immediately, and make sure the King of Xixia apologizes to me, the Duke of Song Dynasty!"

It's not surprising that Sima Guang was angry. Although the Song Dynasty valued literature over military affairs, it was because literati were in charge and they were very concerned about face. If you want money, it's easy to negotiate. But the face must be given in place.

Such was the case with the Chanyuan Alliance and the Xixia Peace Conference. The prerequisite for the Song Dynasty to give annual coins to the Liao Kingdom was that when the two parties negotiated peace, the Liao Kingdom would call the Song Dynasty its elder brother and Liao its younger brother. On the Xixia side, Li Yuanhao had to go to the imperial title to declare his vassalage to the Song Dynasty. In this way, the Song Dynasty was willing to give the two countries annual coins to negotiate peace.

Now that the envoy has returned after being beaten like this, even the civil officials no longer have any integrity. I can't bear it anymore. What's more, although Sima Guang likes to engage in party disputes to hinder others, he is only seeking his own benefit. Not as bloodless as Qin Hui.

Seeing that Sima Guang took the lead, other civil servants, such as Cai Que and Su Zhe, agreed.

When they saw the civil servants, they all spoke. King Zhongxiao, General Yang, and Lieutenant Wang also came out to request orders to send troops.

Seeing the anger of the ministers, Zhezong rarely spoke. Instead, he watched everyone silently.

At this time, all the ministers' eyes were turned to Zhao Mu, who had not yet expressed his stance.

Seeing that it was almost done, Zhezong asked, "What do you think, uncle Huang?"

But Zhao Mu is still whetting everyone's appetite. But he pretended to think.

The atmosphere in the court suddenly fell silent, and everyone was waiting for Zhao Mu to speak.

(End of this chapter)