I traveled with them to the Northern Song Dynasty

Chapter 183 He could have just robbed you, but he's still willing to negotiate.

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Two hundred thousand horses?!

Xiao Fengxian, Xiao Bodie, and Liu Yanzong's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

Yes.

The Liao Dynasty was a nation of horsemen, and horses played an important role in its military, production, and daily life. The environment of the northern grasslands also provided the Liao people with a sufficient number and quality of warhorses.

To put it simply, not counting the common people, the Liao Dynasty court alone possessed more than one million horses for a long period of time.

However, not all of these more than one million horses were warhorses.

In terms of troop deployment, the central cavalry of the Liao Dynasty, including the Pishi Army and the Shushan Army, had a total of 500,000 horses, while the Gongfen Army had approximately 330,000 horses (the Gongfen Army had a total of 410,000 men, with one general and three horses per general). In addition, the armies of local tribes also possessed a large number of horses.

But this was the total military equipment of the Liao army.

The Liao army trapped in Yanjing by the Song army numbered only about 100,000. Although many of them were the main force of the Liao army, such as the Pishi Army, Shushan Army, and Gongfen Army, there were also many infantrymen among them.

How could there possibly be 200,000 warhorses?
To put it bluntly, if the Liao army really had 200,000 warhorses, Yelü Yanxi and his ministers wouldn't have been trapped in Yanjing.

Therefore, Zhao Yu and his ministers' demand for 200,000 warhorses from Yelü Yanxi and his ministers was purely unreasonable and even absurd.

Liu Yanzong reacted the fastest. He quickly realized that Zhao Yu and his ministers wanted warhorses because they were afraid that the people in the city, especially Yelü Yanxi, would run away. As long as the warhorses in the city were taken away, Yelü Yanxi and the people in Yanjing would have no way to escape.

If this was indeed the purpose of Zhao Yu and his ministers, then the 200,000 warhorses were merely a figure of speech; what they actually wanted were all the warhorses in Yanjing City.

Liu Yanzong thought to himself, 'This is definitely non-negotiable.'

really!

Han Zhongyan said in an unquestionable tone:

"Your dynasty's army is predominantly composed of cavalry, and the demand for warhorses is countless, as everyone knows. Yanjing is the vital hub of your dynasty, where politics, economy, and military strength all depend. Moreover, Yanjing is a bustling commercial center, a hub for trade between the north and south, requiring a large number of horses for transportation and exchange. Furthermore, when the Liao emperor and his nobles tour the country, Yanjing, being a formidable city, is always accompanied by a vast procession of horses when their carriages stop. Now, if your dynasty is willing, you can certainly deliver a mere two hundred thousand horses. If your dynasty makes excuses, it means you have no intention of negotiating peace. If that is the case, then our two dynasties will fight again. Once the city falls, every person and every item will belong to our dynasty."

Upon hearing Han Zhongyan's threat to continue the fight, Xiao Fengxian immediately hesitated and said sincerely, "It's not that our dynasty doesn't want peace, but even including the packhorses, there are hardly 200,000 in the city. I hope that Prime Minister Han will be lenient."

Han Zhongyan also felt that there couldn't possibly be so many horses in Yanjing City, so he remained silent for a while before saying, "In that case, your dynasty shall hand over all the horses, cattle, sheep, camels, mules, and donkeys in the city within three days. Any missing horses will be delivered when your dynasty's reinforcements arrive."

Xiao Fengxian wanted to argue further, but Han Zhongyan said displeasedly, "To be honest, all the soldiers of our dynasty want to break through Yanjing City, capture your emperor alive, and establish this unparalleled achievement to gain promotion and reward. It is because His Majesty the Emperor of our dynasty pities the lives of people from both dynasties and appreciates the hard-won peace between the two dynasties for a hundred years that he has shown leniency towards your dynasty. If your dynasty does not know what is good for you, I will go back and persuade His Majesty the Emperor of our dynasty to withdraw his grace. When the city falls, you can take it for yourselves. Why bother with all this trouble?"

Han Zhongyan's words were practically saying, "Our Great Song Dynasty could have just robbed you, but we're still willing to negotiate with the Liao Dynasty. Don't be so ungrateful."

Han Zhongyan's threat left Xiao Fengxian speechless. There was nothing he could do; the Liao army couldn't withstand the Song army's siege, and if the Song army breached Yanjing, not only would everything in Yanjing belong to the Zhao Song dynasty, but the people of Yanjing would also face the danger of being massacred by the Song army.

Xiao Fengxian glanced at the sun, which was now only a fading glow, and had to say, "I agree to this on behalf of my Emperor. But I wonder if these horses will be included in the annual tribute, and what their value will be?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Yanzong felt as if he were about to vomit blood. He thought to himself, 'The Southern Dynasty is too powerful. How can I question their intentions? They will simply assume this is the return of tribute. When our reinforcements arrive, they will argue that this is the return of tribute. If you ask this question, these 200,000 warhorses will likely be given to the Southern Dynasty for nothing.'

Liu Yanzong guessed correctly again. Upon hearing this, Han Zhongyan calmly said, "On behalf of your dynasty, I request permission from my emperor to use 200,000 horses as interest for the annual tribute. Your dynasty only needs to repay the principal of the annual tribute, and then the two dynasties can formally negotiate peace. What do you say?"

When Han Zhongyan casually mentioned treating 200,000 horses as interest on the annual tribute, Xiao Fengxian was dumbfounded.

Generally speaking, the price of an ordinary warhorse ranges from tens to hundreds of strings of cash.

During the period when the Song Dynasty was in confrontation with the Liao and Western Xia, warhorses were scarce, and the price of high-quality warhorses was even higher, sometimes reaching hundreds or even thousands of strings of cash.

For example, during the reign of Emperor Shenzong of Song, a top-quality horse from the Northwest market cost about 300 strings of cash.

If we calculate it at 300 strings of cash per horse, then 200,000 warhorses would amount to 60 million strings of cash.

This alone is enough to pay back the annual tribute owed to the Song Dynasty.

Of course, there couldn't possibly be 200,000 warhorses in Yanjing, and those warhorses couldn't all be top-quality horses. The horses sold by the Liao Dynasty certainly weren't as expensive as those bought by the Song Dynasty, and the prices of cattle, sheep, camels, mules, and donkeys were even lower.

Even so, these should be worth at least ten to twenty million strings of cash.

Unexpectedly, the warhorses, cattle, sheep, camels, mules, and donkeys worth so much money only became interest on the annual tribute.

Xiao Fengxian wanted to argue, but Han Zhongyan preemptively shut him down, saying:
"The interest rate for private lending in our dynasty is usually two percent per month. Your dynasty has been borrowing our annual tax for nearly a hundred years, and for several years. Let alone two percent interest, even if we only calculate two li or one li interest, it would be difficult to cover the interest even if your dynasty were to pay us back in full. Now, our dynasty is only accepting a mere two hundred thousand horses from your dynasty as interest. How generous is that?"

Xiao Fengxian was speechless again.

What do you expect Xiao Fengxian to say? That this money wasn't borrowed from your Song Dynasty by our ancestors, but rather robbed by them?
If Xiao Fengxian really said that, Han Zhongyan only needed to say one sentence: "Since your Liao Kingdom can plunder, then our Zhao Song Dynasty can plunder too," and the negotiations would completely fall apart.

Not to mention Xiao Fengxian, even Liu Yanzong couldn't refute this.

There was no other way; the Liao Kingdom's previous acts of banditry had completely blocked the path for their descendants.

The key point is that this isn't the time to compete in eloquence. The current situation is that the Song Dynasty is the butcher, and the Liao Dynasty is the fish on the chopping block. How can they fight? How can they argue?
To Xiao Fengxian and the others' dismay, even with these conditions, Han Zhongyan still said, "I want to make it clear beforehand that this is merely a goal I am trying to achieve on behalf of your dynasty. As for whether His Majesty the Emperor of our dynasty will grant it, I make no guarantee."

Upon seeing this, Xiao Fengxian still had to say something nice: "Please do your best to mediate for our dynasty, and our dynasty will never forget your great kindness and virtue."

"I'll do my best," Han Zhongyan said.

Then, Han Zhongyan confirmed with Xiao Fengxian and the others again: "Your dynasty will repay our annual tribute within one month, and within three days, 200,000 horses will be provided as interest on the tribute. If there are not enough horses in Yanjing City, cattle, sheep, camels, mules, and donkeys from within the city can be used as substitutes..."

Zhao Liangsi added from the side, "Five sheep are worth one horse."

Han Zhongyan nodded, acknowledging Zhao Liangsi's addition, and continued, "One ox, one camel, one mule, one donkey. If all the horses, oxen, sheep, camels, mules, and donkeys in Yanjing are handed over, there will still be a shortage. We can wait until your dynasty's reinforcements arrive before handing them over. Any objections?"

By this time, the sun had already set, and the Song army had begun to move.

If Xiao Fengxian does not agree, the Song army will immediately continue the attack on the city, and Yanjing will fall tonight.

Knowing all this, Xiao Fengxian nodded heavily: "Our dynasty has no objection." Han Zhongyan then finalized the details: "In that case, starting tomorrow, your dynasty shall pay our dynasty 500,000 taels of gold, 1 million taels of silver, and 200,000 bolts of silk daily. Starting at dawn tomorrow, all warhorses in the city shall be handed over at Tongtian Gate, and within three days, all horses, cattle, sheep, camels, mules, and donkeys in Yanjing City shall be handed over at Tongtian Gate..."

……

In the city of Yanjing.

Since Xiao Fengxian led his men to negotiate peace, the people of the city, having heard about it from somewhere, gathered from all directions to the square in front of the imperial city, regardless of whether they were Han or non-Han.

People crowded towards the door, bustling and jostling, creating a noisy and chaotic scene.

Upon hearing of this, Yelü Yanxi, accompanied by Xiao Changge, Yelü Heluwo, and others, ascended the city gate tower.

Faced with the chaotic, dense crowd in the square, Yelü Yanxi looked around helplessly, while Xiao Changge, Yelü Heluwo, and others stared at each other blankly, at a loss and filled with anxiety.

After a while, once Yelü Chun had led his troops to maintain order, Yelü Yanxi, following Xiao Changge's instructions, leaned on the railing, faced the square, and loudly addressed the crowd: "Given this situation, what do the soldiers and civilians wish to do? Those with strategies, please offer them now, and I will listen. If you have nothing to offer, please take your armor and weapons and protect the old and young."

It is not difficult to see from this that Xiao Changge, Yelü, Luwo, and others had already made psychological preparations for street fighting.

The people of Yanjing asked Yelü Yanxi many questions. At this point, they disregarded the formalities between ruler and subject, and Yelü Yanxi addressed the people of Yanjing with the respectful terms of "you" and "me" in their conversations.

For the people of Yanjing, their biggest fear was that Yelü Yanxi would rush out of Yanjing at all costs.

If that's the case, the Song army would likely carry out a massacre after capturing Yanjing.

Therefore, some people cried and said, "If Your Majesty leaves the city, all the people will suffer. We beg Your Majesty to have mercy on the people of our city!"

As they spoke, these people burst into tears.

Yelü Yanxi was also upset by this, and he loudly declared, "I am the ruler of this country, how dare I leave here?"

In fact, Yelü Chun had expressed his willingness to lead the Liao army in the city to protect Yelü Yanxi and fight his way out of the city.

However, Yelü Yanxi was afraid that the swords and spears would harm him, so he said that he would wait until Xiao Fengxian had spoken with Zhao Yu and his ministers before making a decision. He would only consider whether to take this desperate path if there was really no other way out.

As for staying behind to lead the city's residents in street fighting, that was a path Yelü Yanxi would never choose.

Therefore, Yelü Yanxi was simply deceiving the people of Yanjing when he said those words.

Xiao Changge, Yelü Heluwo, and others felt that Yelü Yanxi had said enough, so they ordered that all the swords, spears, bows, and arrows stored in the armory be brought over and distributed to the people so that they could prepare for street fighting.

Unexpectedly, many people in Yanjing threw away these weapons as soon as they received them.

What was even more unexpected was that many ruffians and scoundrels in Yanjing City began to kill and set fires after obtaining these weapons.

This led to extreme chaos within Yanjing City.

Many areas, including some government offices, were set on fire.

The fire completely destroyed thousands of houses in the city.

Amidst the thick smoke and raging fire, people fled in all directions in Yanjing. Some ran from the east to the west of the city, while others ran from the west to the east. When they met on the road, they were all bewildered and did not know where to go. In the chaos, many fathers and sons were separated, many couples were separated, and some entire families, unable to bear the suffering, even hanged themselves.

Many ruffians and scoundrels among the Liao people took advantage of the chaos to commit robbery and plunder with impunity.

Some ruffians among the Liao people even disguised themselves as Song soldiers and specifically attacked mansions.

Numerous high-ranking officials, noble families, wealthy households, and prominent merchants suffered harm.

Some high-ranking officials and scholars had to change into cloth robes and straw clothes to conceal their identities and mingle among the common people; some women from noble families had to smear mud on their faces and wear tattered clothes to conceal their identities, resembling beggars.

Many Liao people also tried to escape Yanjing. They fled with the old and young, but many elderly people and children were crushed or trampled to death. The abandoned corpses of the elderly and infants piled up in front of the city gate, a truly horrific sight. The cries of agony, coming from who-knows-where, were even more unbearable to hear.

These reports gradually reached the palace. Upon learning of this, Yelü Yanxi ordered Yelü Chun to quickly suppress the lawless elements while simultaneously preparing to break out of Yanjing.

To be honest, Yelü Yanxi had also considered taking a gamble and fighting his way out of Yanjing.

Not only did the hundreds of thousands of Song troops outside the city completely surround Yanjing, but they also dug countless trenches several feet deep in front of each city gate and set up a large number of deer antlers and tripwires to prevent the Liao army from escaping from the city.

Crucially, the Song army's cavalry was always ready to intercept and kill any Liao soldiers who dared to break out of Yanjing City.

If the Liao people were to break out of the city, they would definitely pay a heavy price.

Yelü Yanxi could hardly believe that he was the lucky one who managed to fight his way out of Yanjing.

As darkness fell, the Song army began to surge forward, and the siege equipment also started to move, as if they were about to attack the city again.

Currently, Yelü Yanxi and his ministers are facing a situation where minor disturbances are constantly occurring within the city, while the Song army outside the city is preparing for a major attack. The soldiers defending the city have no confidence in the face of the Song army's powerful offensive capabilities.

Yelü Yanxi truly felt that he was now at his wit's end, and that he might become Zhao Yu's prisoner tomorrow.

At this critical moment, the Song army suddenly stopped again.

Upon seeing this, Yelü Yanxi and his ministers were initially puzzled, but they quickly realized that Xiao Fengxian and others must have successfully negotiated peace with Zhao Yu and his ministers.

Yelü Yanxi quickly issued an edict: "Go and inform the people in the city that the two countries have made peace. Anyone who sets fires, kills, plunders or steals property inside or outside Nanjing will be killed by soldiers. I hope the residents can live in peace. Anyone who disobeys will be beheaded."

As Yelü Yanxi and his ministers waited anxiously, around 5 PM, Xiao Fengxian and others returned to Yanjing City, carrying a yellow flag with the four characters "Peace Between Two Countries" written on it.

Before long, Xiao Fengxian and his entourage arrived at the palace, entered the hall, and reported to Yelü Yanxi the results of their discussions with Han Zhongyan.

After listening, Yelü Yanxi was bewildered. He didn't know whether he should walk into the trap Zhao Yu had set for him...

……

(End of this chapter)