The prince is more stable

Chapter 476 Dignity and Interests
From the perspective of the Song Dynasty, the marriage between Xia and Liao was indeed not a good thing.

The relationship between the Song, Liao and Xia Kingdoms was one of checks and balances, forming a long-term strategic balance, just like the game of rock-paper-scissors, each having its own limits and being controlled by the other.

If the Xia and Liao countries had an alliance, they would inevitably reach some kind of exchange of interests and alliance, forming an alliance relationship. If the two countries joined forces to attack the Song Dynasty, both sides would be in conflict. How would the Song Dynasty respond?

The combat effectiveness of the Song Dynasty army is far from being completely transformed.

The only ones who underwent a complete transformation were the tens of thousands of soldiers in the Dragon Guard Battalion.

Even with these tens of thousands of people, Zhao Xiaoqian would inevitably be unable to defeat the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun. If the two countries launched a full-scale war against the Song Dynasty at the same time, the Dragon Guard Camp alone would not be able to support the two-front war.

What's more troublesome is that once Liao and Xia join forces to attack Song, the group of spineless peace-loving cowards in the Bianliang court will inevitably take the opportunity to emerge and propose peace. The good situation that Zhao Xiaoqian and the soldiers of the Longwei Camp fought hard to build will be wiped out overnight.

While drinking with Li Jinzhen absentmindedly, Zhao Xiaoqian made a secret decision.

This Xia-Liao marriage must be destroyed!
No one is allowed to destroy the situation I have built by sleeping in the open air.

The banquet to entertain the Western Xia delegation lasted for two hours. The Song army generals were all big drinkers and soon knocked all the officials of the Western Xia delegation over. The generals were still not satisfied, but Zhong Jianzhong still strictly ordered them not to drink anymore. After all, in the army, getting drunk could easily lead to mistakes.

Zhao Xiaoqian was not drunk. When others toasted him, he would just take a sip. No one dared to yell at him, "Are you raising fish?". Just taking a sip was a great honor.

After the banquet, the drunken officials of the Western Xia delegation were helped into the tent to rest.

However, Zhao Xiaoqian called Zhao Xin from the Imperial City Office.

"Send a message to Zhen Qing in Shangjing, the capital of Liao, and ask him to pay close attention to the Western Xia delegation coming to Shangjing. I want to know their movements, especially the marriage between Xia and Liao." Zhao Xiaoqian ordered.

Zhao Xin took note of it respectfully.

Zhao Xiaoqian then frowned and asked, "How many days has Zhang Rong been in Shangjing?"

"Yesterday, Zhang Rong sent someone to deliver a letter saying that the Liao emperor and his ministers denied attacking Su Shi. Now, the officers and soldiers of the Shangjing garrison are still searching the city for Su Shi. It seems that he has not been found yet."

Zhao Xiaoqian hummed and said, "Zhang Rong has contacted the Imperial City Administration and immediately took Su Shi away from the capital. If he delays, there might be trouble."

"Tell Zhang Rong that the Dragon Guard Battalion will continue to put pressure on the Liao Kingdom on the north bank of the Juma River. Even if Su Shi is exposed, it doesn't matter. If the Liao Emperor still dares to kill Su Shi after things have come to this, I will truly be convinced of his power."

…………

The Liao Kingdom came to the capital.

Zhang Rong offered a high reward for Su Shi's whereabouts and sent out all 500 soldiers to search for Su Shi in Shangjing in a swaggering manner.

The Liao Dynasty's rulers and ministers knew about it but could do nothing about it.

The Liao Kingdom was originally in the wrong. Killing foreign envoys was a very taboo and scandalous act. Yelu Hongji and the Liao officials did not dare to admit it at all.

If it were any other year, the Liao would have done what they did and killed what they killed. Power is everything between nations. If you're not as strong as me, what if I kill your envoy? Do you dare to hit me?

But things are different now.

The power of the Song Dynasty has grown, and it has even surpassed that of the Liao Dynasty. In this situation, if countries talk about power again, it means that I must go to your capital city with great fanfare to find the whereabouts of my envoy. What dare you do to me?

Yelu Hongji really couldn't do anything to Zhang Rong, so he pretended to know nothing and allowed Zhang Rong to go to Shangjing to look for Su Shi with drums and gongs. The reward documents were posted all over the streets, which attracted the attention and discussion of the Liao people.

The Liao people were naturally deeply dissatisfied with such an arrogant behavior, but what could they do?
The result of the Liao army's two defeats in two battles has gradually cast a shadow on the hearts of the Liao people.

Whether one admits it or not, the State of Song is indeed strong now and has the capital to be arrogant.

When Zhang Rong was sent to the capital as an envoy, his attitude was completely indifferent to everyone around him. As a military general, he naturally had no idea about the so-called diplomatic etiquette.

According to customary practice, Liao officials and dignitaries invited Zhang Rong to a banquet, but he refused. This guy not only did not understand diplomatic etiquette, he also did not understand the ways of the world.

Late one night after three days of a city-wide search, Zhen Qing from the Imperial City Division finally met up with Zhang Rong in the backyard of the inn he had booked.

Zhang Rong had been making quite a commotion in Shangjing these past few days, hoping to alert the Imperial City Office's spies that His Royal Highness had sent someone to rescue Su Shi. Zhen Qing, however, was cautious, and even after Zhang Rong arrived in Shangjing, he calmly observed from the shadows.

Observe whether there are Liao people monitoring around the inn, observe whether Zhang Rong is capable of taking Su Shi away, and also observe how the Liao monarch and ministers will react to Zhang Rong's actions.

It was not until three days later that Zhen Qing was sure it was safe, and then he sneaked into the backyard of the inn and met Zhang Rong.

Zhen Qing and Zhang Rong were not familiar with each other. As part of the official business of the Imperial City Division, Zhen Qing had only made a brief appearance at the Dragon Guard Camp in order to pay a visit to Zhao Xiaoqian.

One is the spy chief on the secret front, and the other is a brave general on the front battlefield. They both shine in their respective fields and have a bright future.

After meeting, both sides checked each other's identities, had no time for small talk, and got straight to business.

Today, Su Shi is still hidden by Zhen Qing in an underground dark room in a private residence in Shangjing, and has never seen the light of day. The officers and soldiers of the Shangjing Garrison have searched it repeatedly. Fortunately, the dark room was built secretly, and Su Shi has not been discovered by the Liao people until now.

However, as time went on, the longer Su Shi stayed in Shangjing, the more disadvantageous it would be for him. No one could predict what the situation would be like between the Song and Liao countries next.

If the relationship between the two countries deteriorated further or even went to war again, Yelu Hongji would have no scruples and would be determined to kill the Song envoy as a sacrifice to heaven. Zhao Xiaoqian would be unable to rescue him even though he was thousands of miles away.

So over the past few days, Zhen Qing became increasingly anxious. He had to send Su Shi out of Shangjing as soon as possible and escort him back to the Song Dynasty.

After Zhen Qing finished describing the situation in the capital in detail, Zhang Rong suddenly became serious. He felt the urgency of the matter.

The only mission of the diplomatic mission to Liao Kingdom was to escort Su Shi back to his country. Zhang Rong was now thinking only of this one thing.

"Tomorrow I will take my brothers to pick up Master Su, and we will walk out of the Shangjing city gate in a swagger. I want to see who dares to stop me." Zhang Rong said loudly.

Zhen Qing smiled bitterly: "This... I'm afraid it won't work."

"Why? Our Dragon Guard Battalion has already crossed the Juma River to the north and put pressure on the Liao Kingdom. Do they still dare to detain Scholar Su?"

Zhen Qing sighed, "The Emperor's mind is hard to predict. Since the Liao Emperor has issued an order to kill Scholar Su, what would he think if he failed and instead allowed him to leave Shangjing with impunity?"

Zhang Rong narrowed his eyes and sneered, "He's still planning to attack again?"

"It's hard to say. Sometimes, the emperor's prestige is more important than the interests of the country. The emperor has always been very firm in his choices in this regard, and would rather give up his own interests to maintain his prestige..."

"In other words, if Scholar Su brazenly leaves the city, the Liao emperor's prestige will be damaged. Even if it means losing some southern territory, worsening relations with the Song Dynasty, or even engaging in another battle with the Dragon Guard Battalion, he will do everything in his power to restore his lost face."

"Shangjing is thousands of miles away from the Song-Liao border. It's hard to say what will happen along the way. General Zhang only has 500 men under his command. I'm afraid they can't protect Scholar Su."

Zhang Rong gradually understood what Zhen Qing said.

When trying to guess the emperor's thoughts, sometimes we really can't start from the perspective of interests.

The emperor is not a profit-driven businessman. When it comes to the trade-off between interests and face and dignity, the emperor's perspective is completely different from that of a businessman.

As long as a businessman can make a profit, he will never go against the interests. Dignity and face are all external things.

But emperors are different. Of course, they also care about interests, but if they have to choose between interests and face, it would be like their wife and mother falling into the river. Others may not be able to guess who to save first.

"In other words, if I leave the city tomorrow with Scholar Su, we might be intercepted and killed by the Liao people on the way?"

Zhen Qing sighed, "Yes, by escorting Scholar Su out of the city safely, you were actually slapping the Liao Emperor in the face. As the Emperor, he would definitely retaliate for this slap. It's only natural that he would kill you along the way."

"Send Master Su out of the city secretly?" Zhang Rong asked again.

Zhen Qing smiled bitterly and said, "Then we're back to square one. The Shangjing garrison hasn't opened the city gates yet, and the inspections are as strict as ever. They're also looking for Su Shi. If we could secretly get Su Shi out of the city, our Imperial City Division would have done it long ago, without having to wait for General Zhang to arrive."

Zhang Rong was furious: "You can't do it openly or covertly. If you piss me off, I'll take my brothers and set fire to Shangjing City tonight. Burn this damn city to death!"

Zhang Rong gritted his teeth and said viciously, "Never mind. The longer this goes on, the more trouble we'll have. I'll take Scholar Su out of the city tomorrow. Once we're out of Shangjing, we'll figure out a way to deal with this. Then I'll send a fast horse to His Royal Highness the Prince of the County with a letter, asking him to send troops to meet us and provide assistance."

(End of this chapter)