Great Song Dynasty Writer

Chapter 278 Song Xiang's Explicit Revelation

“In his early years, when Wei Guan was in charge of Jingnan, he submitted a memorial saying: ‘The Five Streams are dangerous and the bird paths are difficult to pass. The generals are greedy for merit and easily start border conflicts, which will exhaust the troops and waste resources. What benefit will this bring to the country?’ He then proposed three strategies: pacification is the best, defense is the second best, and attack is the worst. Unfortunately, his words did not receive the wise judgment of the time.”

Song Xiang sighed and said, "Now, Peng Shixi, the prefect of Xizhou, is harassing the border and causing endless trouble. An imperial edict has been issued to Wei Guan, the prefect of Jingnan, Wang Chuo, the transport commissioner of Hubei, and Dou Shunqing, the prefect of Chenzhou, to offer him amnesty. However, Peng Shixi has sent his subordinate commander, Tan Shiming, to offer amnesty and surrender. But he must personally deliver the letter of surrender to Lizhou for the handover before any appeasement can be carried out. The number of tributes offered by the prefects of the thirteen prefectures under his jurisdiction should be reduced to a limit of five to seven prefectures. I also request that you provide a detailed breakdown of the steps to be taken."

"Today's topic is to analyze the profound meaning of the imperial edict regarding Peng Shixi's affairs and to discuss the essence of Wei Guan's 'three strategies'."

The Song Dynasty's border defense problems were mainly concentrated in four areas. Ranked from highest to lowest threat level, the greatest threat was naturally the Xia Kingdom, a major threat to the northwest and Hedong. Next was the Liao Kingdom, which bordered Hebei. In addition, there were the Wuxi Barbarians in southern Jinghu and the Wuman in southern Sichuan.

Peng Shixi, the prefect of Xizhou, was the leader of the Wuxi barbarians, who had always been a headache for the Song Dynasty.

Whether it's the Wuxi Man or the Wu Man, these southern barbarians are the kind of people who, although they are unlikely to rebel and establish their own country like the Xia Kingdom, and their power is not particularly strong, they can rely on the miasma and danger of the southwestern border, and the extremely complex terrain is not suitable for large-scale military expeditions. Therefore, they are fickle, often jumping out to annoy the Song Dynasty and then retreating.

There are four words that describe this very well.

— Skin diseases such as tinea and scabies.

The Song Dynasty was not without wise men; many capable ministers understood that the gains from fighting the Wuxi barbarians were not worth the investment, so it was better to appease them than to wage war.

Of course, the main reason was that the Song army had little combat effectiveness.

It was practically impossible to completely wipe out the Wuxi barbarians despite the miasma and mountainous environment.

On the contrary, due to logistical pressures and the need to divide their forces to adapt to the terrain, as well as the Song generals' tendency to be greedy for merit and act rashly, they were likely to be defeated one by one by the Wuxi barbarians who were familiar with the terrain.

Appeasement is indeed a feasible and good strategy, but appeasement is by no means a sign of weakness, and the court also has conditions.

The official gazette clearly stated that the first requirement was for Peng Shixi to "personally bring the surrender document to Lizhou for handover." He could not send an envoy or make a verbal promise; Peng Shixi himself had to come to Lizhou, which was under the control of the imperial court, with the surrender document symbolizing submission.

Clearly, if they dare not, then their intentions must be deceitful.

The next step was to "reduce the number of prefectures to a limit of five to seven." Peng Shixi's ability to command the thirteen prefectures of the Five Streams Barbarians was the foundation of his arrogance, and the court wanted to weaken his power and eliminate his claws.

Lu Beigu didn't know whether Peng Shixi would agree this time.

Because he mostly remembered major historical events and famous figures, he didn't deliberately try to remember minor events or lesser-known people.

However, Peng Shixi must be under immense pressure right now. From his perspective, the Wuxi Barbarians are far smaller than the Western Xia. Although they are said to be thirteen prefectures, they are actually all uninhabitable areas, and their population is about the same as that of three or four ordinary prefectures and military districts of the Song Dynasty.

While the mountainous terrain gave it an inherent advantage of being "easy to defend and difficult to attack," it also meant a lack of resources, especially food. In addition, the Wuxi Man region was also short of various other items such as salt, iron pots, cloth, and medicine. Therefore, if the Song Dynasty imposed a long-term blockade, Peng Shixi was destined to fail.

Therefore, in the end, they will most likely be appeased.

But before that, it's uncertain how many battles will be fought, how long they will last, and how many rounds of negotiations will take.

Lu Beigu pondered for a long time before finally picking up his pen.

"To pacify the border regions, the key lies in far-sighted planning and adapting to the circumstances. The imperial edict to pacify Peng Shixi of Xiaxi Prefecture is a result of the court's careful consideration of the situation and the implementation of the excellent strategy proposed by Wei Guan when he was in charge of Jingnan. It is truly a wise plan for governing the country, ending the war and allowing the people to rest."

"The Peng family has ruled over the various barbarian tribes of the Five Streams for generations. The more numerous their prefectures, the more powerful they become, becoming uncontrollable. Now, the imperial edict reduces their vassalage and limits the number of prefectures they control, thus cutting off their claws and weakening their foundation, ensuring that after submission, they have no means to gather and cause chaos. The sincerity of this pacification is not merely to show leniency, but also to establish authority to deter their treachery, weaken their power to eliminate their threat, and meticulously plan to ensure its success." "What was the essence of Wei Guan's previous proposal? First, it was about 'understanding the terrain.' The Five Streams region is characterized by towering mountains and winding paths, making it difficult for a large army to penetrate deep into the region, with ten men unable to supply even one soldier. Second, it was about 'understanding the people's hearts.' Border generals seeking credit easily incite conflict, leading to endless wars and only wasting the treasury while increasing border troubles. Third, it was about 'the harm of power.' Attacking is costly and exhausting, and defending is equally exhausting. Only pacification can 'subdue distant peoples without resorting to arms,' using authority to win them over, saving national resources and pacifying the border people."

When Lu Beigu finished the last stroke and let out a long sigh, fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

He respectfully presented the manuscript to Song Xiang with both hands.

Song Xiang took it and began to read it calmly. He read very slowly, his gaze often lingering on key points for a long time.

"Starting tomorrow, you don't need to come anymore."

Song Xiang put down the manuscript and said.

Lu Beigu straightened his back and clenched his fists.

He was actually mentally prepared for this, but when the moment actually arrived, it still felt somewhat sudden.

Or rather, he had actually gotten used to the routine of going back and forth between the Imperial College and the Song residence for the past few months.

"After the Qingli era's promotion of education, the imperial examinations of the Qing Dynasty placed great emphasis on policy essays. Your current affairs policy essays, historical essays, and classic essays were already quite good. After these months of training, you have reached a high level of proficiency. You can not only discuss the topic in a clear and logical manner, but also grasp the most crucial point. In my opinion, your strength is sufficient to rank among the top Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations). If you want to pursue further refinement, the gains will be very small, and time will not allow it."

"As for the classics, there's not much to teach you. As for poetry and prose, Zhao Bian already taught you before he left. I'm not as good as him."

"Only Mo Yi, you still need to prepare with all your might and further improve your strength before the provincial examination of the Ministry of Rites arrives."

Song Xiang said, "So, what I mean is that from today until the Lantern Festival, you should focus all your energy on the art of ink. Learn well from Song Tang. He is not bad in this area. The art of ink that I teach you is easy to go too deep into, and you won't be able to fully understand it. Moreover, some of your understanding will be outdated."

Lu Beigu nodded, then suddenly asked, "Will you still go out to admire the lanterns on the Lantern Festival, Teacher?"

"of course."

Song Xiang said meaningfully, "It's just that no one is writing 'Sheng Chazi' this year."

Lu Beigu said no more, bowed, and took his leave.

Since December, the Green Pine Society has not held any gatherings, and no one has seen Ouyang Xiu.

In the Song Dynasty's imperial examination system, the Ministry of Rites would close the examination hall on the ninth day of the first lunar month and officially begin the examination on the sixteenth day of the first lunar month.

So although the conversation was short, Song Xiang had almost explicitly told him what was going on.

—Ouyang Xiu was the chief examiner of the provincial examination of the Ministry of Rites in the second year of Jiayou. If you write an essay in the style of classical Chinese prose, you will definitely get a high score. You don’t need to prepare an essay anymore. Just focus on studying the meaning of the Mohist text.

Before this, Lu Beigu was a little worried that the course of history would change due to his appearance as a time traveler. If that were the case, then all his preparations would be in vain.

The course of history remained unchanged, and the "Sky Eye" continued to function effectively, which undoubtedly reassured him.

(End of this chapter)