Usurpation of Mongolia: My father-in-law is Genghis Khan

Chapter 182 Although the Song Dynasty was defeated, it triumphed in spirit!
Zhao Shuo said, "Of course. If Zhao Yun doesn't issue an edict of self-reproach, then my 'Letter to the People and Soldiers of Song' will have been for nothing. If Zhao Yun doesn't issue an edict of self-reproach, then whose fault is it that nearly 40,000 soldiers from both sides sacrificed their lives in this battle? It can't be my fault, can it?"

"Uh……"

After the initial anger, humiliation, and shock, Cao Youwen suddenly calmed down.

What exactly is he angry about?

What exactly was he humiliated about?

Yes, Zhao Yun was the emperor of the Song Dynasty. He was forced to issue the "Edict of Self-Reproach," which on the surface was a humiliation for the entire Song Dynasty and for all its subjects.

But upon closer examination, it seems that the "Northern Zhao Emperor" forced the "Southern Zhao Emperor" to issue the "Edict of Self-Reproach"!

What business is it of the people of the Song Dynasty of the two heads of the Zhao family arguing about who is right and who is wrong?

It could even be said that Zhao Shuo was showing the world who was truly worthy of being the only Han Chinese "official." Only Zhao Yun should feel angry and humiliated; what did it have to do with anyone else?
Moreover, since Zhao Shuo has put forward these five conditions, it is now a matter between Zhao Shuo and Zhao Yun.

Whether or not these five conditions are agreed to, let alone Cao Youwen, even Gui Ruyuan is just a nobody. What use would it be for him to argue on this matter?

Cao Youwen took a deep breath and said with a wry smile, "It seems that only the imperial court can decide on the king's five conditions. At most, we, as foreign officials, can only relay them."

"You must relay this message quickly."

Zhao Shuo calculated: "From Xianren Pass to Lin'an by express courier, it would take a little over four days. I'll give you some leeway, so it'll be five days. The round trip will take ten days. I'll give Zhao Yun three more days to consider, so that's thirteen days. To guard against any unforeseen circumstances, I'll give you another two days. Let's do this: half a month. Starting tomorrow, if there's no clear answer within fifteen days, I'll lead my army into Sichuan."

"Furthermore, to show Gui Ruyuan's sincerity, you must withdraw your troops from Xianren Pass within two days. Within five days, you must offer 200,000 shi of grain, 10,000 sheep, and 30,000 pigs to reward the army. If you fail to do so, I will immediately launch an attack. However, by then, our army will have achieved even greater victories, and those five conditions will probably have to be increased."

"Your Majesty, the time is far too tight!"

Fearing Zhao Shuo might misunderstand, Cao Youwen quickly explained, "It's not that I intentionally delayed; it's just that our Great Song Dynasty sent Meng Gong with 10,000 loyal troops to aid the Jin Dynasty, and they are currently stationed in Bianliang. Even if our Great Song Dynasty were to change course and ally with the Mongols to destroy the Jin Dynasty, Meng Gong's army wouldn't have time to withdraw!"

Zhao Shuo shook his head slightly and said, "That's your business. In short, you must cede Xianren Pass within two days. Within five days, I want to see 200,000 shi of grain, 10,000 sheep, and 30,000 pigs. Within half a month, I want a clear answer. If you don't do as I say, I will immediately send troops to continue attacking the Song Kingdom."

"Yes, yes, Your Majesty's decree will be taken back immediately."

Time was of the essence, so Cao Youwen hurriedly left to return to Xianren Pass to see Gui Ruyuan.

Gui Ruyuan didn't have any good ideas either.

He could only urgently dispatch two groups of envoys.

A group of messengers went to see Meng Gong in Bianliang to urge him to make preparations as soon as possible.

In fact, Meng Gong's situation was not too difficult.

Although he was stationed in Bianliang, the Jin state would never feel comfortable having a strong Song army stationed in the capital. Therefore, Meng Gong was stationed outside Bianliang, with 5,000 cavalry under his command.

After making thorough preparations, he immediately headed south upon receiving the news, and the Jin state might not be able to stop him.

The other group of envoys naturally came to Lin'an.

As for Gui Ruyuan's withdrawal from Xianren Pass and the distribution of rewards and supplies, these were not difficult tasks.

Gerile is right. After the crushing defeat at Xianren Pass, the morale of the Song army was extremely low. Even the elite troops could no longer be used as elite troops. They just wanted to get as far away from Zhao Shuo's army as possible.

When the news of Gui Ruyuan's order to retreat was released, the Song army erupted in cheers.

Providing rewards and supplies is not a problem either. Sichuan is rich, and there are 200,000 shi of grain in Xianren Pass. It just takes a few days to gather the livestock.

……

……

Five days later, in Lin'an, inside the imperial palace.

Emperor Zhao Yun of the Song Dynasty, together with his six chief ministers, discussed the deadly crisis facing the Song Dynasty.

Originally, the State of Song had five prime ministers: Prime Minister Shi Miyuan, as well as Zheng Qingzhi, Qiao Xingjian, Xue Ji, and Ge Hong.

Recently, another official, the Chancellor, was added.

Xuan Zeng was appointed as a Privy Councilor and concurrently as a Deputy Privy Councilor.

In fact, among the prime ministers of the Song Dynasty, apart from Ge Hong, a veteran of four reigns, Zheng Qingzhi, Qiao Xingjian, and Xue Ji were all Shi Miyuan's men.

However, Zheng Qingzhi and Qiao Xingjian were only close to Shi Miyuan. These two men, being high-ranking officials, naturally possessed their own prime ministerial demeanor, and Shi Miyuan could not simply order them around as he pleased.

Xue Ji was Shi Miyuan's absolute confidant, but having only Xue Ji was too lonely.

Therefore, Shi Miyuan also included another trusted confidant, Xuan Zeng, in the ranks of the prime ministers. In this way, Shi Miyuan's position of power was as secure as Mount Tai.

Zhao Yun is absolutely fed up with this.

These officials had made such a good point before: if the Jin Dynasty's Tongguan defense line could stop Zhao Shuo, then the Song Dynasty's Hanzhong defense line would be even easier to handle.

The Han army's defensive line was designed and built by the Wu brothers, a solid defense line that the Song Dynasty had maintained for a century. Even at the height of the Jin Dynasty's power, the famous general Wuzhu led 100,000 elite Jin troops and could not break through it.

If Zhao Shuo doesn't attack the Hanzhong defense line, that's fine. But if he does, he'll definitely witness the mighty power of the Song Dynasty.

The results of it?
Zhao Shuo didn't witness the glorious might of the Song Dynasty, but he did witness its weakness and incompetence.

Well, it hasn't even been two months, and they've already annihilated the main force of the Sichuan army and breached Xianren Pass. It looks like they're about to invade Sichuan.

The tribute paid by Sichuan amounted to one-third of the Song Dynasty's revenue!

If the Song Dynasty were to lose Sichuan, it would likely be close to its demise!
In this great battle, Zhao Yun didn't show his face, but he exposed his backside! Not only that, Zhao Shuo forced him to issue an "Edict of Self-Reproach," making him expose himself to the world!
If Zhao Yun had actually issued the "Edict of Self-Reproach," how would he have the face to rule over the millions of people of the Song Dynasty?

Zhao Yun, his face ashen, looked at the six ministers and said, “Gui Ruyuan, the Pacification Commissioner of Sichuan, has sent an urgent report: Zhao Shuo has led an army of 200,000 to invade Hanzhong. Gui Ruyuan led the main force to fight Zhao Shuo at Xianren Pass, but unfortunately suffered a defeat, with nearly 40,000 soldiers killed and nearly 100,000 captured by Zhao Shuo. Zhao Shuo is about to take advantage of the situation to launch an attack on Sichuan and destroy our Great Song. If our Great Song wants to negotiate peace with Zhao Shuo, we need to agree to five conditions proposed by Zhao Shuo. What do you ministers think?”

"In my opinion, Zhao Shuo's five conditions are too outrageous and rebellious, and our Great Song Dynasty must not agree to them."

Xuan Zeng, who had just been promoted to prime minister, spoke first, saying, "According to Gui Ruyuan's report, he still has 30,000 elite troops left. If we gather together the elite troops stationed in various parts of Sichuan, we should still have 10,000 to 20,000. If the court urgently dispatches troops to Sichuan, we might be able to fight Zhao Shuo!"

Xue Ji, however, wore a disdainful expression and snorted coldly, saying, "Fight Zhao Shuo? How can we fight? After this defeat, will those 30,000 elite troops be of any use in the short term?"

"Furthermore, what's this talk about sending elite troops to Sichuan? The Song Dynasty's elite troops are only in two places: Sichuan and Jingxiang. The southern troops are utterly useless; they couldn't even defeat the Annamite troops back then. Right now, the renowned general Meng Gong of Jingxiang is leading 10,000 loyal troops in Bianliang. May I ask, Prime Minister Xuan, where does the Song Dynasty have any troops to spare?"

Xuan Zeng said, "Prime Minister Xue, don't exaggerate. Does Jingzhou have no other troops besides Meng Gong's ten thousand loyal soldiers? Now that the Song and Jin are allied, what difficulty is there in transferring tens of thousands of elite troops from Jingzhou to Sichuan?" Xue Ji sneered, "Is the Song-Jin alliance really that reliable? If the Jin takes advantage of the time when our Great Song is transferring its elite troops away from Jingzhou and suddenly decides to implement some kind of 'compensating for losses in the north with gains in the south' strategy, how will our Great Song respond?"

"Furthermore, are you sure our troop deployment is faster than Zhao Shuo's advance? Don't forget, Zhao Shuo only gave us half a month."

"Half a month later, he attacked Sichuan with 100,000 prisoners as the vanguard. How could the imperial court resist? Don't forget, these 100,000 prisoners were all Sichuan soldiers. Sichuan's greatest advantage was its strategic location, which was easy to defend and difficult to attack. And these prisoners were very familiar with the terrain of various parts of Sichuan. Perhaps the imperial court did not even know that there was a certain path that could bypass the checkpoints and attack from the rear, but those prisoners knew it."

"you you……"

Xuan Zeng seemed quite angry, and said angrily, "According to you, Zhao Shuo should just send his army into Sichuan directly. Why bother negotiating with us?"

Xue Ji, however, was confident and said, "Zhao Shuo naturally has his concerns. Is Sichuan so easy to attack? Gui Ruyuan has gathered 40,000 to 50,000 elite troops from Sichuan. There are countless towering mountains between Shaanxi and Sichuan, making logistical support extremely difficult. Even Zhuge Liang had to invent the wooden ox and flowing horse to transport military supplies. If Zhao Shuo were to be stranded at a strategic pass, and logistical support were to be disrupted, how would he cope?"

"Furthermore, the main force of the Jin Kingdom is concentrated on the Tongguan defense line, holding back its attack. Once the Jin Kingdom makes a desperate move and sends troops out from Tongguan, can Zhao Shuo's troops left in Shaanxi hold them off? If Zhao Shuo's army is blocked in Hanzhong, with our Song army blocking the way in front and the Jin army intercepting from behind, his 200,000 troops may be wiped out in one fell swoop."

"To put it bluntly, we and Zhao Shuo are caught in a dilemma. We, the Great Song, are afraid that Zhao Shuo will advance unstoppably and take all of Sichuan. Zhao Shuo is afraid that his main force will be blocked between Shaanxi and Sichuan, unable to advance or retreat. This is the basis for peace talks."

Xuan Zeng seemed to be persuaded, softening his tone as he said, "Even so, it should be equal on both sides. It's one thing for our Song Kingdom to pay reparations to various regions, but why should His Majesty issue an 'Edict of Self-Reproach'?"

Xue Ji answered fluently, saying, "This brings us to another crucial point. There's a long-standing rumor among the people that Zhao Shuo possesses the blood of Emperor Taizu. Many Han Chinese in the north even directly address Zhao Shuo as 'Your Majesty.' Do you think it's more likely that Zhao Shuo's advance into Sichuan was swift and unstoppable, or more likely that he would be bogged down in Sichuan?"

After a pause, he bowed deeply to Zhao Yun and said, "I believe that although Zhao Shuo's conditions are somewhat harsh, they are currently the most advantageous choice for our Great Song Dynasty. I beg Your Majesty to consider this carefully!"

Zhao Yun certainly didn't want to issue any "edict of self-reproach," so he turned to the other chancellors, whom the chancellors considered important, and said, "Chancellor Zheng, Chancellor Qiao, Chancellor Ge, what do you say?"

"Uh……"

The three looked at each other, but no one spoke.

As for Ge Hong, he was old, a veteran of four reigns, and essentially a figurehead in the Southern Song court. He had little power under normal circumstances; could we really expect him to get involved in this mess?

Zheng Qingzhi and Qiao Xingjian were truly at a loss as to what to do about this matter.

Xue Ji and Xuan Zeng are both Shi Miyuan's confidants. What conflict could they possibly have? The heated argument between the two just now was probably at Shi Miyuan's behest, to bring up the pros and cons of peace talks in court.

By agreeing to Zhao Shuo's conditions, the Song Dynasty lost both face and substance. But in reality, it only lost Hanzhong and Jianmen Pass; it would remain stable for the time being.

They've become firm in refusing Zhao Shuo's conditions, but if Sichuan falls, the Song Dynasty will be close to its demise. If they can hold off Zhao Shuo, the Jin Dynasty could launch another attack on Tongguan and potentially achieve a great victory. However, the chances are slim; who dares to gamble it all?
Zheng Qingzhi and Qiao Xingjian, as prime ministers of the Song Dynasty, were merely competent. They were incapable of making a reckless gamble with the fate of the Song Dynasty.

Helpless, Zhao Yun could only look at Shi Miyuan and say, "Duke of Wei, what do you say?"

Hahaha~~
Shi Miyuan laughed three times and said, "In fact, this old minister believes that although Zhao Shuo's military strength is very sharp and he has won every battle, he is a man without strategy and wisdom and is not worth worrying about."

Zhao Yun's eyes lit up, and he asked, "What do you mean by that, Duke of Wei?"

"It's a very simple principle. Does he really think that once he takes Jianmen Pass, Sichuan will be defenseless? Not at all! After Jianmen Pass, there are still Jiameng Pass and Mianzhu Pass to defend, as well as countless mountain cities to rely on. Zhao Shuo's idea that by occupying Jianmen Pass, he can dominate Sichuan is a huge mistake."

Zhao Yun thought to himself, "Don't even mention Zhao Shuo, even I know that after Jianmen Pass there are Jiameng Pass and Mianzhu Pass. However, Jianmen Pass is the most dangerous pass in Sichuan. Throughout history, there has never been a case of it being conquered head-on. Even when Deng Ai attacked Shu, he crossed the pass secretly through Yinping."

With Jianmen Pass given to Zhao Shuo, the difficulty of his subsequent attack on Sichuan was more than halved.
Shi Miyuan, aren't you just deceiving yourself by saying that?
Zhao Yun looked embarrassed and said, "Based on this alone, does the Duke of Wei conclude that Zhao Shuo is incompetent and lacks wisdom?"

"Of course, it's not just that. Your Majesty, please consider this: what has always been the first condition for peace negotiations between our Great Song Dynasty and the Jin Dynasty?"

"The relationship between the two countries?"

Shi Miyuan said, "Your Majesty is wise. This is the relationship between the two countries. As for the Jin Kingdom, it is one thing. No matter whether our Song Kingdom acknowledges them as a vassal, a brother, or a nephew, it cannot change the fact that our Great Song Dynasty is the legitimate successor of China."

"However, if Zhao Shuo does not ask His Majesty to issue an edict of self-reproach, but instead asks His Majesty to address him as his brother, or even as his nephew or grandson, wouldn't that solidify his identity as the Zhao Emperor of the North? In that case, if Zhao Shuo were to launch another military campaign against Song, he would have far fewer troubles."

In fact, Zhao Shuo would find it disgusting to even be addressed as Zhao Yun's grandfather, let alone as his brother or nephew, so he would never take advantage of that.

But Zhao Yun was actually convinced by this reason.

After all, his ascension to the throne was so bizarre. What he's most worried about now is losing the throne, not saving face.

Zhao Yun said, "According to what the Duke of Wei said, if this peace treaty is successful, our Great Song will still benefit?"

“That’s for sure,” Shi Miyuan said. “What is the mere land of Hanzhong compared to the vast territory of my Great Song Dynasty? A little wealth is even less worth mentioning. It’s much easier for His Majesty to issue an edict of self-reproach than to address Zhao Shuo as an elder. Isn’t that a gain in itself?”

Shi Miyuan had no intention of resisting resolutely.

Even if he wins, he will still be the most powerful prime minister in the history of the Song Dynasty. What are the benefits?
He was defeated, and the fate of Han Tuozhou, the prime minister of the Song Dynasty, served as a warning to him!
Moreover, Shi Miyuan genuinely believed that Zhao Shuo's refusal to address Zhao Yun as his brother or nephew stemmed from a lack of understanding of the ways of Chinese politics. Given time, this presented a significant opportunity.

Zhao Yun said, "So, I should agree to Zhao Shuo's five conditions?"

Shi Miyuan smiled slightly and said, "Not only should we agree, but we should also use this as a reason to give Zhao Shuo more things."

"for example?"

"For example, Zhao Shuo is busy with military campaigns and has never enjoyed the tenderness of beauties from Jiangnan. If Your Majesty were to select dozens of beauties from Jiangnan and present them to Zhao Shuo, after he destroys the Jin dynasty, he would be immersed in the world of gentle pleasures and might just become another Li Cunxu."

Li Cunxu was a Shatuo Turk, whose original surname was Zhu Xie.

Because he was granted the surname Li by the Tang Dynasty and entered into the imperial register, he identified himself as a descendant of the Tang imperial family.

After Li Cunxu ascended the throne, he continued to use the name of the Tang Dynasty, which is historically known as the Later Tang Dynasty, and established his capital in Luoyang.

After this man destroyed the Former Shu and acquired Hanzhong and the two Sichuan regions, he became arrogant and complacent. He built palaces on a grand scale, favored actors, and adopted the stage name "Li Tianxia" (meaning "Li Under Heaven").

Ultimately, famine struck all directions, discontent spread, mutinies broke out everywhere, and Li Cunxu was killed and his clan was exterminated!
Shi Miyuan compared Zhao Shuo to Li Cunxu, believing it to be quite reasonable.

"Yes, we could use a honey trap!"

"What beauties are there in the North? Not to mention the beauties of those foreign tribes in the West. Send some beauties from Jiangnan over there, and Zhao Shuo might be so infatuated that he'll neglect his morning court duties!"

"Not only should we send them, but we should send them the best! Our Great Song Dynasty might very well produce a Xi Shi who can destroy an enemy country!"

"The Duke of Wei's plan is truly a wise and shrewd strategy for governing the country!"

……

Marriage between people with the same surname is forbidden. Since Zhao Shuo already has the surname Zhao, he naturally cannot offer up a royal woman.

What humiliation was there in offering a woman of another surname to the "Northern Zhao Emperor"? These Song Dynasty officials seemed to feel no psychological pressure whatsoever.

(End of this chapter)