No war in the Northern Song Dynasty

Chapter 23 Ouyang Xiu

Standing outside the door was a middle-aged Confucian scholar, probably in his thirties.

The scholar was wearing coarse cloth clothes with stains on the sleeves, and holding two wine gourds in his hands.

He had a pair of bright eyes and a goatee that was popular among the Song people. One could tell at first sight that he was an extraordinary person.

When the middle-aged scholar saw Su Ze, he smiled and raised the wine gourd in his hand and said:

"I have heard of Su Lang's talent and have come to visit him hastily, hoping to learn from him."

Are these the original body’s bad friends?
I don’t remember this person?
However, the other party was humble and looked extraordinary, so Su Ze still opened the door and led the middle-aged Confucian scholar in.

After entering the door, the middle-aged scholar did not dislike Su Ze's poor family background at all, and said to Su Ze:

"Today, the sky is clear and the ground is bright. How about having a drink in the courtyard?"

Su Ze thought for a moment, moved the tables and chairs from the small courtyard, and said to the middle-aged scholar:
"Before the Ministry of Rites exam, I promised others not to drink. If Mr. Lu wants to drink, I cannot accompany him."

The middle-aged scholar did not mind, but smiled and said:

"The Ministry of Rites examination is a top priority in life, so one should prepare well for it. I'm sorry for being rude today, but I've heard of Su Lang's talent and couldn't help but come and meet him."

Listening to what this middle-aged Confucian scholar said, he really thinks he is talented. Could he be a friend of Wang Anshi?
The middle-aged scholar took the gourd and started drinking alone without caring about Su Ze.

Although he felt that this middle-aged Confucian scholar was a bit abrupt, the scholars were now open-minded and there were many eccentric Confucian scholars in the city of Bianliang, who wanted to use this opportunity to attract the attention of the prime minister.

The original body was like this. After drinking too much at a banquet, he would often start criticizing the government and making comments on the country.

As expected, after taking a few sips of wine, the middle-aged scholar also began to comment on the country's development.

"I heard that Su Lang once said at a banquet that the current unrest in the northwest is all due to the incompetence of the ministers in the court. If Su Lang were given 10,000 soldiers, he could capture the traitor Li Yuanhao alive."

Su Ze couldn't help but hold his head. His original body often spoke nonsense after drinking, and it turned out that someone had heard it.

These words are actually very offensive. If you become an official in the future, they may even become a handle for attacks from the censors.

Su Ze said:

"Don't take drunken talk seriously."

The middle-aged scholar showed a disappointed expression and said:

"Lu thought Su Lang had some good ideas for pacifying the northwest."

Hearing this, Su Ze was also a little unhappy.

You, a middle-aged lunatic scholar, suddenly showed up at my door, and now you think you're not lunatic enough?
Su Ze thought for a moment and said:
"The troubles in the northwest didn't arise overnight. How can such a deep-seated disease be cured in one day?"

The middle-aged scholar became interested. He looked at Su Ze and listened to Su Ze continue:

"When our dynasty was founded, we originally wanted to use the sons of generals to guard the military. At the beginning of the country, there were also brave generals like Yang Ye who were loyal to the country."

The middle-aged Confucian scholar nodded. Yang Ye was the prototype of the story of the later drama Generals of the Yang Family. When guarding Yanmen Pass, Yang Ye ran out of ammunition and food and died, becoming one of the few military generals who could be praised in the early Song Dynasty.

"However, since the reigns of Emperor Taizong and Emperor Zhenzong, the emphasis has been placed on civil affairs over military power, and the military families have gradually declined, leaving the northwest with no generals to use."

The middle-aged scholar asked:

"But Li Yuanhao is a treacherous villain. How should the court respond?"

Su Ze said decisively:

"Build a fort."

"Build a fort?"

Su Ze nodded and said:

"Our Great Song is powerful, while the Western bandits are weak. The Great Song is rich in resources, while the Western bandits are scarce. If we use the resources of the Great Song to consume the resources of the Western bandits, the Western bandits will be the first to collapse."

"Nomadic peoples rely on plunder to establish a nation, and the Liao Dynasty did just that. As long as they can plunder resources, they can use war to support war, accumulate prestige, and eventually complete the stage of transformation into a dragon, establishing a new nation."

"If we diligently build fortresses, leaving the Western bandits with nothing to plunder, it will greatly undermine the bandit leader's prestige. Repeated deployments of troops will also consume some resources. If the Western bandits continue to do this for a long time, even if they occasionally win, they will only go from victory to defeat. The more they fight, the faster they will lose."

The middle-aged scholar said excitedly: "If so, doesn't it mean that the court can pacify the Western bandits without doing anything?"

Su Ze shook his head and said:

"Of course it's impossible. Since ancient times, there has been no such thing as relying on the enemy's own collapse to achieve victory."

The middle-aged scholar asked again:
"What does Su Lang mean?"

Su Ze said:

"Building bunkers is not only used to deplete the Western bandits' power, but also serves the purpose of training troops."

"Our generals are weak and our soldiers are exhausted. This is not something that will happen overnight. We still have the Liao Kingdom, a major threat to the north. The northwest is a good place for training our troops."

The middle-aged scholar asked with shining eyes:
"In this way, as long as the soldiers are trained, they can not only deal with the Western bandits, but also the Liao bandits?"

Su Ze shook his head and said:

"How could it be so easy? As I said before, our dynasty has weak generals and exhausted soldiers. This is an old problem passed down by our ancestors. It cannot be changed by one or two brave generals or one or two capable armies."

"When Su talks about training soldiers, he doesn't just mean letting them hone their combat capabilities on the front lines. He also wants the court to reform the military system and reverse the shortcomings of the previous dynasty's military system. Only then can we truly train strong soldiers."

Su Ze stood up and said to the middle-aged scholar:

"Master Ouyang, Su has already 'knew cultivation'."

Su Ze has already concluded that the middle-aged Confucian scholar in front of him is Ouyang Xiu, the author of "The Drunken Old Man Pavilion".

Ouyang Xiu was startled, then he put down the wine gourd and laughed. He said to Su Ze:

"Su Lang is truly a man of great talent. He who could write 'worrying about the world before worrying about himself' is truly extraordinary! Your strategy for the northwest today is similar to Fan Xiwen's strategy for defending the west in the northwest. They are similar in nature!"

"Xiu was stupid and couldn't understand. He even wrote a letter to criticize Fan Xiwen for building a fortress in the northwest, saying it was a waste of money and manpower. However, Fan Xiwen was a gentleman and never defended himself to Xiu. Now I realize that Fan Xiwen was being prudent and prudent."

"If Su Lang could get to know Fan Xiwen, he would definitely have a great time chatting with him!"

Fan Xiwen is naturally the world-famous Fan Zhongyan.

In fact, Su Ze's northwest border strategy is actually a summary and continuation of Fan Zhongyan's policy for managing the northwest.

First, he copied other people's famous quotes, and now he even copied national policies, and gave them to Ouyang Xiu, who had a close relationship with Fan Zhongyan.

Even Su Ze, who was so shameless, couldn't help but blush.

Ouyang Xiu asked curiously:

"How did Su Lang guess my identity?"

Su Ze said:

"Mr. Ouyang used the nickname Drunkard, and his accent remained unchanged, so it was easy to guess."

Ouyang Xiu spoke with a Hubei accent, and coupled with his demeanor, Su Ze quickly guessed his identity.

It is estimated that his petition was sent to the palace. Emperor Renzong loved talents, so he gave his article to Ouyang Xiu, who also loved talents.

During the reign of Emperor Renzong, Ouyang Xiu was well-known for his love for young talents and his eagerness to promote them. Many young talents whom Emperor Renzong was not able to promote directly became famous through Ouyang Xiu.

　Ps1: Su Ze’s words are also an allusion to Ouyang Xiu.

　　When Ouyang Xiu was famous for his literary talent, there was once a "talented man" who was dissatisfied and often said that his talent surpassed Ouyang Xiu.

　　The "talented man" went to visit and met a big tree on the way, and he was inspired to write a poem: "There is a tree in front of the door, with two big branches." At this time, a stranger behind him continued to recite: "In spring, moss becomes leaves, and in winter, snow becomes flowers." The "talented man" then invited the stranger to go with him.

　　When the two men reached the riverbank, they saw a flock of ducks diving in. The "talented man" composed another poem: "A flock of lovely ducklings, leaping into the river together." The stranger added the following two lines: "White feathers float on the green water, red claws rock the clear waves."

　　Finally, the two of them took a boat across the river. The "talented scholar" was eager to express himself and recited aloud: "We two take a boat together to visit Ouyang Xiu." After hearing this, the stranger smiled and said: "Xiu already knows you, but you still don't know Xiu (shame)!"

　　Ps2: Ouyang Xiu's ancestral home is in Jiangxi, but he grew up in Suizhou, Hubei. There were many such cases in the Song Dynasty. For example, Wang Anshi's ancestral home is Linchuan, Jiangxi. He also calls himself Linchuan Wang Anshi, but he rarely goes to Linchuan. He lived in Jinling when he was a child, and chose to retire in Jinling when he was old.

　　This is similar to the concept of ancestral origin of national leaders today.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)