In the Song Dynasty, there was no law or order.

At the end of December in the second year of Baoyuan, Fan Zhongyan, the governor of Hebei Road and deputy director of the Political System Institute of the Song Dynasty, led the troops of Hebei Road and defeated the Liao army.

The Liao army suffered heavy casualties, lost at least 70,000 to 80,000 soldiers and horses, and fled back to the country in a panic.

Such a huge loss, even for the Liao Dynasty with strong troops, can be said to be a serious blow to the vitality, which made the Liao emperor Yelu Zongzhen terrified.

He gathered a large number of defeated soldiers and reorganized the morale. With the addition of 30,000 soldiers left in Nanjing, he barely deployed 200,000 people in the towns around Xijin Prefecture to defend against the attack of the Song army.

However, the unexpected surprise was that when the Han people on the border between Song and Liao learned that the Song army was coming, they were so scared that they fled north with their belongings at night.

They even gave up their land and houses, dragged their families, and some of them disliked their chickens, ducks, sheep and livestock that ran slowly, and carried chickens, ducks and sheep all the way.

Moreover, not only the people in the border areas, but even the Han people in Xijin Prefecture, when they heard that the Song State was coming, were eager to join the army and asked to go to the front line to kill the enemy, as if the Song State, which was also a Han Chinese, had some deep hatred with them.

So in less than half a month, hundreds of thousands of people in the counties south of Laishui fled to the desert, and even the grain that was about to be harvested next year was not wanted, and they just wanted to escape.

Fan Zhongyan was speechless when he saw this, although he had tried to post a notice to reassure the people, saying that the Han people would not fight against the Han people and would never oppress the people.

But it was obvious that the reputation of the Song army in the past made the people panic, and it had almost no effect.

In fact, if it was just the strict taxation, for the sake of livelihood, the people would not abandon all their belongings, even the land for farming, and leave their homes and flee their homeland.

After all, for the people, land is the foundation. In an agricultural society, no one is willing to abandon their food.

Unless there is another thing that can be more important than land.

What could it be?

That is naturally their lives!

In addition to the Song Dynasty's tax collection that made the Liao people feel terrified, what scared them the most was the problem of killing innocent people and claiming credit.

This is an old and difficult problem in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms.

It was a chaotic era no less chaotic than the Five Barbarians' Rebellion. Military generals plundered and the people suffered. It was common to kill innocent people and claim credit.

Even when the Northern Song Dynasty was just established, Zhao Kuangyin fought against the Northern Han Dynasty and Zhao Guangyi went north to fight.

Therefore, the local people were extremely frightened and had to flee their hometowns for fear that the Song army would repeat the old ways.

In fact, there was already such a problem. The Northwest Frontier Army was fine. After all, Fan Zhongyan had been governing there for two years. The Northwest Army had strict discipline and did not massacre Han people and kill innocent people to claim credit.

But the Hebei Army had such a situation. Some troops actually massacred villages and sent heads to the military merit office, saying that they killed the Han army of the Liao Dynasty.

Fortunately, Lao Fan strictly reviewed military merits, and someone reported the massacre of people and villages in the Liao territory, and discovered these problems. Otherwise, the situation might have further expanded.

Even so, Fan Zhongyan was furious and put all the troops involved, from the generals to the soldiers who took action, to military court, and all were sentenced to death.

But these are all later stories.

At least for now, due to the invasion of the Song Dynasty, the Han people of the Liao Dynasty are still quite scared. Even if Fan Zhongyan sent people to appease them, it would still be useless.

There is no way.

He wanted to send troops to intercept.

But the front-line troops had to confront the front-line troops of the Liao Dynasty.

The troops in the rear were either transporting food or cleaning up the remaining Liao Dynasty soldiers, and there was really no way to take care of the people.

So they could only let it go for now.

After all, there were still some people who were not afraid of death and were reluctant to leave their family property and continued to stay.

As long as these places were occupied in the future, the people were appeased, and the people's livelihood was well managed, those who escaped would eventually come back after seeing the situation here.

Soon, this year's war slowly came to an end with the arrival of the New Year.

Yelu Zongzhen fled back in embarrassment.

Fan Zhongyan went north and deep into Liao territory, and fought with the Liao army.

Time came to the second year, January 1040 AD, and the emperor of the Song Dynasty changed the reign to Kangding.

Kangding.

It means rich and stable.

Pray that after the war is settled this year, the country will be rich and strong.

In January of the first year of Kangding, Fan Zhongyan basically wiped out most of the remaining Liao troops in the rear, and a large number of Song troops crossed the border and entered Liao territory.

Although the Liao Kingdom responded actively, its decline was already obvious. Especially the soldiers of the vassal states and tribes, they had no morale.

They suffered the greatest losses in this battle. In a sense, this seriously shook the rule of Yelu Zongzhen and caused the prestige of the Liao Kingdom in these vassal states and tribes to fall sharply.

But there was no way.

War is so cruel, just like when the Jin people rose later, these vassal states and tribes could not bear the oppression of the Liao Kingdom, and finally joined the Jin Kingdom and destroyed the Liao Kingdom.

Once those vassal states and tribes found that the suzerain state was declining, it was inevitable that they would devour their master.

Fan Zhongyan's army approached the border, but did not attack the city.

Strictly speaking, the Song army was good at attacking cities. After all, since the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the history of wars of the Han people is often a history of sieges.

Countless wonderful stories have been derived around the battle between siege and defense, such as the duel between Mozi and Lu Ban, and a large number of siege tactics, equipment and defense tactics and equipment have also appeared.

But siege warfare is not as good as defensive warfare. The grenades of the Song army have no effect. It is impossible to break the city with just a few cannons. For example, during the Anti-Japanese War, the Japanese army used modern artillery to bomb the Nanjing city wall. Except for the outer wall, it was a bit Apart from the losses, it is still extremely strong inside.

Therefore, if the Liao State attacks and the Song State defends, the advantage of firearms will be fully exposed. If Liao defends, Song attacks. Both sides still have to return to the starting point, and during the siege, the Liao cavalry may also conduct flank harassment raids, making the battle uncertain.

In the end, after careful consideration, Lao Fan only controlled Fan Yang and the surrounding cities, and did not cross Laishui to launch an attack on Xijin Mansion, which was heavily guarded by Liao troops, so as not to make mistakes and ruin the hard-won victory.

I have to say that this attitude of giving up when things get better is correct.

Because the pressure on the treasury in the rear of the Song Dynasty was already very high at this time, Lao Fan had already received the request from the Constitutional Yuan before he fought the battle to protect the city. He hoped that if he had the chance, he would make a quick decision and not continue to delay. Go down.

The price of rice in Bianliang has risen from three to four hundred and a stone to five to six hundred and a stone. Although it has not reached the level where the Western Xia was conquered for several years in history, and the price has soared to 700-800 yuan per stone, it is estimated that it will be almost the same next year, which will put a lot of financial pressure on the imperial court.

If the fight continues, offense will be much more expensive than defense, so Lao Fan has to consider whether the Song Dynasty's national strength can continue to be sustained. Even if it can be sustained, I am afraid that the people in the country will not be able to make a living, and countless people will rebel.

"It's also time to go back and preside over the New Deal reforms."

In Fanyang City, looking at the vast northern land, although Lao Fan was excited about regaining the Han Dynasty, he still felt a little melancholy when he looked at the latest documents sent over.

The war is about national strength and the people's livelihood.

Not only has the country been unstable in the past few years, but the most important thing is that the people's livelihood in Hebei Road has been very bleak, and there has even been a famine in some places.

The ancients said that heaven and earth are not benevolent and treat all things as stupid dogs.

He also said that he would rather be a peace dog than a person in troubled times.

Both people and animals were displaced in such wars.

If you just read the war reports, you may not feel anything about the grand narrative of battlefield changes.

But for ordinary individuals, it is a devastating disaster.

In addition to fighting these days, Lao Fan is also concerned about the management of Hebei Road, which also makes him feel melancholy.

Only a country with strong national power can have the capital to declare war.

If we continue to fight when the people's livelihood in the country is in decline and people's lives are very difficult, it will only lead to the destruction of the country.

"This is the point of my reform."

Fan Zhongyan put his hands behind his back, looking at the north and thinking, "Now, it depends on whether the Liao Kingdom will continue to fight. If they continue, then I can only grit my teeth. If they agree to my conditions, then If I can return to Bianliang safely, I will make the Song Dynasty prosperous and the country peaceful and peaceful!"

The sky gradually darkened, and a group of people slowly appeared in the north. When they faced the Song Dynasty's reconnaissance cavalry, they did not show any hostility. Instead, they raised their hands to indicate that they came with sincerity.

Tangqi stopped them outside Fanyang City and informed Fan Zhongyan of the arrival of the Liao envoy.

Lao Fan immediately understood that the Liao Kingdom could not withstand it anymore, so he did not hesitate much and returned to the original Liao Kingdom County Government House in Fan Yangcheng and asked people to bring the Liao Kingdom envoys over.

The envoys this time are really heavyweight.

It was Zhang Jian himself.

The old man is seventy-six years old this year, but he is not as senile as ordinary old men. Instead, he is energetic and quite strong.

Historically, he lived to be ninety-one years old, and was always respected by Yelu Zong, Xingzong of Liao Dynasty. He was never called by his name or his position, but respected his father.

All because of his assistance, the Liao Kingdom during the Liao Shengzong period was extremely prosperous and reached its peak. It can be said that among the Liao Shengzong's literary and martial arts, at least Zhang Jian's literary and political achievements should account for half of the credit.

Therefore, even if Liao Shengzong died and Liao Xingzong succeeded to the throne, Zhang Jian would still be entrusted with important responsibilities.

When he became an official due to old age three years ago, he was awarded the title of Liushou in Luojing, Shangfu, Yin of Xinghenan, and the title of Duke of Qin. Last year, he became the King of Korea, which is quite a favor.

Therefore, it can be said that even if Zhang Jian became an official, he was still the right-hand man and supportive minister of Xingzong of Liao Dynasty. The status may still be higher than that of some royal relatives with the surname Yelu and Xiao.

Knowing that Zhang Jian was on an envoy, Fan Zhongyan went to the yamen gate to greet him in person.

He had also heard of this man's reputation. Not only was he an honest official and efficient in governance, but the Han people under the Liao Kingdom were able to live a very comfortable life with very low taxes. It was also thanks to him that he often persuaded Yelu Zongzhen and his son to reduce taxes on the people. tax.

Therefore, he can still gain the respect of Fan Zhongyan despite his emotions and reasons.

After Zhang Jian got off the carriage, Fan Zhongyan went up to meet him, cupped his hands and said, "Fan Zhongyan has met Zhong Baogong."

"Mr. Fan is so polite."

Zhang Jian returned the greeting and said with a smile: "Your Excellency, I am ashamed to greet you personally."

Fan Zhongyan said with a smile: "Zhongbao has high moral character and high prestige. He is not only an important minister of the Liao Kingdom, but also a great Confucian known to the world. He should be welcomed by him."

"Haha, Mr. Fan has praised me."

Zhang Jian smiled.

"please!"

Fan Zhongyan stretched out his hand to indicate.

The two of them walked into the government office, and then sat down in the inner hall.

Facing Zhang Jian and Fan Zhongyan, he showed enough respect. As soon as he sat down, a cup of light tea was served.

He heard that Zhang Jian likes to drink tea.

Zhang Jian smelled the fragrance of the tea, his eyes lit up, and he praised: "Is it Dragon and Phoenix Group Tea?"

Fan Zhongyan smiled and said, "Has Mr. Zhong Bao also drank this tea?"

"yes."

Zhang Jian licked his tongue and said, "Your Majesty once rewarded me with half a catty, and I regard it as a treasure."

The status of Longfeng Tuan Tea is comparable to that of Wuyishan Dahongpao in later generations. It is a tribute tea exclusive to the royal family and can basically be obtained as a reward from the emperor.

Although the emperor of Liao was also an emperor, he actually had no way to obtain it, and the annual coins did not include it.

That is to say, every year on the birthday of Empress Dowager Xiao, the Song Dynasty Congress congratulated her on the royal family's new year's appointment.

After Empress Dowager Xiao was placed under house arrest, the birthday party was no longer held. Naturally, there were no more gifts from the Song Dynasty. Dragon and Phoenix Tea was even more precious in the Liao Kingdom.

For this reason, many ministers of the Liao Kingdom persuaded Yelu Zong to really welcome his mother back for the sake of "the benefits of China's annual employment".

"As long as Mr. Zhong Bao likes it."

Fan Zhongyan smiled and said: "After defeating Yuan Hao, Your Majesty rewarded me a lot. If I love tea, I will give him a pound before I leave."

Hearing his words, Zhang Jian was moved. He was amazed by the wealth of China.

This tea is said to be the same price as gold. One tael of tea is worth one tael of gold. In the Liao Kingdom, the price was several times or even ten times higher. If a pound of tea was sold to the nobles of the Liao Kingdom, it would probably be exchanged for several pounds of gold. Just give it away so generously.

"Thank you very much for your kindness. I understand that you will not receive any reward for your efforts."

Zhang Jian shook his head and refused. Although he was very moved, it was undeniable that he was also a very principled person.

Fan Zhongyan did not continue to be more polite about this, but became serious and went directly to the topic: "Since Zhong Baogong doesn't want to be polite, it's okay. I'm here today, and I'm sure I'm not here to drink tea."

Zhang Jian got straight to the point: "In this war, we, Daliao, are willing to make peace with the Song Dynasty and rebuild the old relationship. We are even willing to agree to some of my husband's conditions."

"tell me the story?"

Fan Zhongyan said.

Zhang Jian said: "First, the Song Dynasty cannot cancel the annual currency. Second, we, Daliao, can return the ten counties on the south bank of Laishui to the Song Dynasty, but we must increase the currency by 200,000. Third, the Liao and Song Dynasties signed a non-aggression covenant. The fourth Song Dynasty and the Liao Dynasty used Lai River. The water is the boundary, and both sides withdraw their troops; from then on, any thieves or fugitives who cross the boundary will not be allowed to stay in each other; the two dynasties along the border cities will continue as usual, and no city gods will be built."

This is not much different from the four requests made by Fan Zhongyan, which is equivalent to agreeing to three things. But on the matter of Sui coins, the Liao Kingdom did not relent, and even made one more request.

This is obviously not something that a defeated country should be able to mention.

Old Fan was overjoyed and said with a smile: "The Liao Kingdom was defeated in this battle. Should we really ask the Song Dynasty to pay the coins? It would be good if the Song Dynasty did not allow the Liao Kingdom to pay the coins."

"well."

Zhang Jian sighed: "Is Fan Xianggong really going to that point? Do you know that if we continue to fight, it will only hurt both sides. If the Liao Kingdom is destroyed, the Song Dynasty will not be easy."

"This doesn't concern Mr. Zhongbao."

Fan Zhongyan said calmly: "Even if the fight continues, the Song Dynasty will definitely be the final winner."

"I believe that the Song Dynasty is the final winner."

Zhang Jian said in a deep voice: "But the consequences of doing that are nothing more than the people in the hinterland of the Song Dynasty having a hard time, endless wars on the borders, and the death of the Han people in the sixteen states of Yanyun."

Fan Zhongyan retorted: "The Han people of the Song Dynasty and the Han people of the Liao Dynasty have the same origin, so why is this so?"

"hehe."

Zhang Jian smiled and said: "You know better than me how the Song people exploited the people. This time you went north to Zhuozhou, how many Han people learned about the Song Dynasty's attack, dragged their families and families away from home, and were unwilling to live under the rule of the Song Dynasty?"

These words immediately silenced Fan Zhongyan.

Because it's true.

Not to mention now, even the Liao Kingdom, which has completely declined decades later, during the Battle of Yanjing, countless Han people of the Liao Kingdom fought bravely, as if the Han people of the Song Kingdom were the invaders. You can know how the Han people of the Liao Kingdom treated the Song Kingdom at that time. What a disgusting attitude.

Therefore, after learning through Zhao Jun how the Han people of the Liao Kingdom treated Tong Guan when they entered Yanjing, and now seeing with his own eyes the attitude of the Han people of the Liao Kingdom towards them, Fan Zhongyan was unable to fight back effectively.

"Decades ago, Zhao Guangyi's Northern Expedition was vigorous. At that time, many Han people hoped to return to their homeland. However, he returned in defeat, leaving countless Han people disappointed."

Zhang Jian stabbed Fan Zhongyan in the heart again and said: "Now you want to disturb our peaceful life again. Do you want everyone in Yanyun and Han to die to be happy? In the final analysis, we just want to live. What’s wrong with that?”

"This matter is indeed a fault of our Song Dynasty. Your Majesty is very kind and does not want the people to live in misery. After I return to Kaifeng, your Majesty will let me preside over reforms and reforms, cut redundant expenses, and cancel exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes to alleviate the people's worries. "

Fan Zhongyan said with some lack of confidence: "If the Han people in Yanyun trust me, I am willing to make a promise. As long as I return to Han soil, all taxes and corvee will remain the same as in the Liao Dynasty, and there will be no increase in taxes."

Zhang Jian shook his head and said: "The Han people in Yanyun will no longer believe in you. When the Han people in your Song Kingdom can live a better life, let's talk about this again."

"well."

Fan Zhongyan took a deep breath, then picked up the tea cup and drank tea to cover up his embarrassment.

He knew that this matter was indeed a fault of the Song Dynasty.

Although he could be high and mighty and accuse these Han people of abandoning their country and joining the empire established by the Diyi, he could not really make a fuss about it.

People should always be true to their conscience. What's wrong with the people just wanting to survive and losing their sense of country?

So the Song Dynasty really had no reason to criticize them from a moral high ground.

Although Lao Fan was a politician, politicians could be shameless and have no conscience, but at most they could play tricks with juniors like Liu Liufu. It would be better to be frank with people like Zhang Jian to avoid being humiliated.

"So I still say the same thing. For the sake of the people of both countries, peace is the most precious thing. It is the best policy to stop while the going is good."

Zhang Jian continued to persuade: "If we continue to fight, I believe the Song people can win, but even if the Liao people are defeated, they can just withdraw from Yanshan. However, by then, the Song will only get the devastated Yanyun, an empty treasury and a declining people's livelihood. Do you think that this is a good thing for both of us?"

Fan Zhongyan was silent for a moment and said: "If we go to war, what will the Liao do?"

"Raise an army of 500,000 and fight to the death!"

Zhang Jian said without hesitation.

"I know that Liao has such a force, but does Liao still have the national strength to support an army of 500,000?"

Fan Zhongyan asked again: "I'm afraid that Liao will collapse after only a few months of stalemate."

"Shangjunshu·Nongzhan": "A country with strong national strength is a strong country." "New Tang Book·Li Deyu Biography": "When troops go out of the country, they rely on the Ministry of Revenue, and many delays will hinder national strength."

The ancients realized very early that wars between countries of the same level have always been a battle of national strength.

The Liao Kingdom has strong soldiers and horses. It controls the Mongolian grasslands to the west, the three northeastern provinces to the east and north, and the sixteen states of Yanyun to the south. There are countless tribes and vassal states. Fan Zhongyan believes that they can gather 500,000 troops.

However, the Liao Kingdom did not have much money. The annual tribute from the Song Kingdom alone became the pillar economy of the Liao Kingdom. Even if the Liao Kingdom could pull out so many troops, he did not believe that the Liao Kingdom could have the national strength to continue fighting.

But Zhang Jian's next words made Fan Zhongyan even more silent.

Because Zhang Jian said: "You have to understand that if the annual tribute is cancelled in this war, my lord will have no money to appease the tribes and vassal states, then my lord's prestige in the tribes and vassal states will fall to the bottom, and the Liao Kingdom will inevitably have civil strife, so it is better to fight to the death."

"If you bring all the food and grass in the country, the army will all go south, bypass your city, go deep into your hinterland, and let the soldiers plunder, I believe that even if the Song Kingdom wins this war and destroys the Liao Kingdom, the entire north and even the south will be attacked, and the Song Kingdom will not be much better!"

His tone was very calm, but this calmness implied a resolute emphasis. Because Zhang Jian was not bluffing, but was saying a cruel fact in a very calm tone.

That is, if the war continues, the Liao Kingdom will only fight with the Song Kingdom in a way that both sides will suffer losses or even perish together.

If you think that most of the losses of the Liao Kingdom in this battle were vassal states and tribes, and the main elite Pi Shi Army suffered few casualties, which is more conducive to the rule of the Liao Kingdom, then you are wrong.

In fact, the tribes willing to obey the dispatch are often loyal tribes that are completely submissive to the Liao Kingdom, otherwise they would not follow the Liao Kingdom to fight.

As long as the Liao Kingdom remains strong, these tribes will remain loyal and will not have any thoughts of rebellion.

But once the Liao Kingdom is defeated and fails to appease them in time, these tribes are likely to resent the Liao Kingdom, and the seeds of rebellion may sprout, which will inevitably cause domestic turmoil.

Even if the Pi Shi Army can suppress it for a while, it cannot suppress it forever.

Even the Pi Shi Army may not be reliable, because as early as the Liao Shengzong period, the Pi Shi Army was not only composed of Khitan people, but also the elite selected by various tribes.

So in order to prevent such a thing from happening, and at the same time to avoid domestic collapse, causing endless civil strife, and then let the Song Kingdom watch the show on the side, and wait for the Liao Kingdom to be in endless civil strife, and then sit back and reap the benefits, the Liao Kingdom will inevitably choose to fight to the death.

Commonly known as barefoot is not afraid of wearing shoes.

Fan Zhongyan squeezed out a few words from between his teeth and said: "What a cruel plan, you want to transfer internal conflicts to external conflicts."

"What is internal conflict and what is external conflict?"

Zhang Jian was puzzled.

Fan Zhongyan did not explain, but just said: "If the war continues like this, the Song Dynasty may be seriously injured, but the Liao Dynasty will definitely be destroyed."

"That is better than letting the Song Dynasty watch its own internal strife and destruction, and letting the Song Dynasty get the advantage."

Zhang Jian said head-on: "Besides, we are not without a chance of winning this battle. From the year before last when you fought with Yuan Hao, to this year when you fought with us, how many grenades do you still have? Can your artillery really stop hundreds of thousands of troops?"

"The Liao Dynasty is moving south, and Yuan Hao will never miss this opportunity. At this time, you are west The elite troops of the Northern Army have been transferred to Henan. Can you really defend us and Yuan Hao with all your strength? "

"And even if you can defend the city, what about the people in the wild? Under the war, the people of the entire north will be involved. "

"Even if you don't care about the people in the north and just want to fight us to the death. In order to maintain the expenses of the army, we must continue to levy taxes. We may not be able to defeat the south, but the majority of taxes will be levied on the people in the south. Will they rebel and resist the government? "

"What will be left for you in the Song Dynasty will only be internal and external troubles. It will not be the destruction of the Liao Kingdom or the destruction of Xixia."

"So in the face of this life-and-death situation, I hope the Prime Minister will think clearly that the life and death of millions and tens of millions of people depends on you alone. Whether the two countries can continue to be stable in the future also depends on you alone."

His eyes were indifferent, and he still said such extremely cruel words in that calm tone.

Only this calm tone can make people feel that the other party is just stating a fact, not a threat or intimidation.

Fan Zhongyan's brows suddenly frowned.

He didn't expect the Liao Kingdom to be so ruthless. This move was really a method of killing both jade and stone.

To be honest.

If the Liao people wanted to continue fighting, he was not afraid.

The problem is that the Song Dynasty does not yet have overwhelming force. Although grenades and artillery alone can determine the direction of a war, it cannot determine the demise of a country.

The Liao State was so large that although its economy was far inferior to that of the Song State, its military strength was even greater, otherwise it would not have suppressed the Song Dynasty for hundreds of years.

Especially now that there are indeed very few grenades left on Hebei Road. After this battle, there are only tens of thousands of grenades left in the army's inventory.

If the Liao State launched an attack immediately and fought against the Song State, his only option was to retreat back to Hebei and rely on the layers of fortresses in Hebei to resist the enemy's invasion.

But if the Liao Kingdom gives up the siege and abandons its rear, there will be no need for food and supplies. It will just ride all the way south, plunder Daming Prefecture in Hebei, plunder Kaifeng Prefecture in Henan, and burn all the places it can go. What about killing and robbing?

Nomadic peoples do not need to grow food to maintain logistical supplies like agricultural peoples. Wherever their horses rode, they plundered. Later, the Mongolian army relied on this method of fighting to fight its way to Europe.

So what if Fan Zhongyan took advantage of the emptiness of the Liao Kingdom and occupied the entire Liao Dynasty?

The hinterland of the Song Dynasty was destroyed.

It's equivalent to hundreds of thousands of rogue bandits wreaking havoc in the hinterland of the Song Dynasty. So what if the Song Dynasty's territory expanded twice?

Can it be managed after being beaten down?

What to do with so many rogue bandits in the hinterland?

I'm afraid that when the Liao Kingdom goes south, countless people who have suffered military disasters will be crying for food in an instant.

Millions of people have been displaced and even lost their lives.

The thought of such a scene already gave Fan Zhongyan a deep headache.

It has to be said that Zhang Jian is worthy of being the most trusted minister of Yelu Zongzhen. Compared with Liu Liufu, he is really too wily and calculating.

Don't be afraid of fighting with the enemy, but be afraid of the enemy fighting for your life.

I make hundreds of thousands a month, and you make 300 yuan a month. If you win, you won’t make any profit, but if you lose, you will lose everything.

It really made Fan Zhongyan feel embarrassed.

It's just that the conditions proposed by the Liao Kingdom were a little difficult for Fan Zhongyan to accept.

Zhao Jun once ridiculed Song Zhenzong Zhao Heng, saying that the Song Dynasty won the battle of Chanzhou, but it signed conditions that humiliated the country and lost power. It was really embarrassing to pay so much money to the Liao Kingdom every year.

This time he won the Battle of Baozhou, and he wanted to add more coins to the Liao Kingdom. Isn't that troublesome?

Don't say that he is not happy when the time comes. Even if the matter is sent back to Kaifeng and handed over to the officials and Zhao Jun, they probably won't be able to accept it.

Therefore, faced with such a thing of losing power and humiliating the country, Fan Zhongyan would never dare to agree, lest Zhao Jun come to poke his spine.

"I can keep it from Your Majesty regarding the annual coins."

After pondering for a long time, Fan Zhongyan said: "But let's not mention the issue of increasing coins. In the battle of Chanzhou, we defeated the Liao army and killed your Liao generals, but in exchange for the Chanyuan alliance, we have already It’s a national humiliation. This time we win again and the money is increased so much. How should we explain it to the officials and the people?”

"The coin must be increased, because if it is less, our lord will not be able to appease the vassal states and tribes. Then he can only take those vassal states and tribesmen who are dissatisfied with the failure of this battle and go south to fight to the death with Song Dynasty."

Zhang Jian shook his head and said: "For the Song Dynasty, this is at most a face issue, but for the Liao Dynasty, it is the basis of survival! What's more, you will not lose the face issue at all. In this battle, you will regain the south bank of Laishui. With so much land, after returning to the country, your prestige in the Song Dynasty will be beyond reach. If you cancel the annual coins, won't you be afraid that your achievements will overwhelm your master?"

"hehe."

Fan Zhongyan said with a smile: "It's nothing to worry about, Mr. Zhongbao. My lord, your Majesty, does not trust people when he appoints people, and does not use people who are suspicious. I can certainly gain the trust of officials and will not make any mistakes."

joke.

No matter how great your achievements are, can you surpass Zhao Jun?

As long as Zhao Jun is around, Zhao Zhen will never be suspicious of him.

Therefore, Lao Fan knew very well that his trump card was never to lead the Song Army to victory, but to have Zhao Jun's support behind him.

"I'm not provoking, I'm just reminding the manager to be fair."

Zhang Jian had no intention of blushing after being exposed. He just said calmly: "It is a good thing that Mr. Jinglue has this kind of loyalty, but there are some things that should be done and should not be done. I hope Mr. Xian can understand, and I believe the Emperor of the Song Dynasty can also understand Mr. The painstaking efforts.”

"Well"

Fan Zhongyan pondered. He knew that Zhang Jian was trying to remind him, and there was no need for Zhao Zhen to be suspicious of him.

Although Zhao Jun was there to protect him, he would definitely be safe and sound, but the credit for recovering part of Yanyun's land was indeed too great. In addition, with the abolition of the annual currency, there would be countless people in the government and the public who asked him to resign and become an official.

In the Northern and Southern Song Dynasties, it almost became a routine to suppress ministers who had made great contributions, regardless of whether they were civil officials or military generals. Apart from other things, didn’t Zhao Jun tell him that Tong Guan was dismissed from office in the blink of an eye after he recovered the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun and was crowned king?

Thinking of this, Old Fan actually felt that the other party was right, but he finally shook his head and said, "It's not just about face. This increase of 200,000 guan of taxes will cost a lot of people's money. I don't want to add burden to the people."

"You are really stubborn."

Zhang Jian frowned and said, "Let me ask you, in the past, when it was the time of Empress Dowager Xiao, how many gifts were given every year on her birthday?"

"These are all given by the royal family. Unless we ask Your Majesty, we don't know."

Fan Zhongyan answered honestly.

"There is no fixed amount each year, but it will not be less than 200,000 strings of cash."

Zhang Jian chuckled and said, "Now that the Liao and Song have reconciled, and our Majesty's birthday is approaching, the Song Kingdom will come to congratulate your Majesty on his birthday and celebrate the end of the Liao-Song war. It is only natural to send birthday gifts. At worst, our Majesty can ask the Queen of Heaven to return and celebrate the Queen of Heaven's Holy Day again."

Fan Zhongyan understood it all at once.

In addition to the annual tribute, there are actually other gifts between Liao and Song. For example, the birthdays of the emperor and empress dowager of Liao and Song.

Historical records show that during the more than 100 years of diplomatic relations between Liao and Song, Song sent 680 envoys to Liao and Liao sent 671 envoys to Song.

Among them, the cost of receiving the Liao envoys alone reached 20,000 to 40,000 strings of cash, and the gifts given to the emperor and empress dowager basically maintained between 100,000 and 200,000 strings of cash.

It was just because of the equal relationship that the Liao Kingdom would often give gifts in return when the emperor and the empress dowager of the Song Kingdom celebrated their birthdays. However, the gifts were not as much as those of the Song Kingdom, but there were still tens of thousands to more than 100,000 strings of coins, which barely prevented the Song Kingdom from losing too much.

As recorded in the "History of the Khitan Kingdom", on the birthday of the Song Emperor in a certain year, the Liao Kingdom sent a large number of gifts, including horses, animal skins, gold boxes, silver boxes, crystal belts, Saker Falcons, etc.

The list of gifts was very long, and they were basically specialties of the Northeast, such as cattle, sheep, wild boars, fish, deer bacon and other game, each of which had hundreds of boxes.

Although it was not as generous as the Song Kingdom directly giving silk cloth, gold, silver and copper coins, it was actually worth a lot of money when all was added up. It was not that the Song Kingdom gave Liao Kingdom a generous gift, and the Liao Kingdom gave Song Kingdom a small profit like sending beggars, otherwise the Song Kingdom would lose face.

Obviously, Zhang Jian's meaning was very simple.

Since you don't give the annual tribute directly for the sake of face, then treat these 200,000 strings of coins as a birthday gift, and both sides will give each other a way out.

That is, the Song Dynasty did not increase the currency and achieved a great victory. Due to the fact that it was a brotherly country with the Liao Dynasty, it was unwilling to fight to the death and still maintained the original annual tribute of 300,000 strings. What was the extra 200,000 strings?

That was a gift from the Song Dynasty to the Liao Dynasty emperor to celebrate his birthday.

If you think that the Liao Dynasty emperor's birthday was a bit extravagant, it doesn't matter. Then let Queen Mother Xiao come back. Anyway, Queen Mother Liu of the Song Dynasty has passed away, and the Liao Dynasty will not give a return gift to the Queen Mother of the Song Dynasty. The Song Dynasty only needs to celebrate Queen Mother Xiao's birthday as before.

In this way, one of the two parties got the actual benefits of the land and had face. The other party had an extra 200,000 strings and could also have money to appease the tribe. It can be said that everyone has saved both the inside and the face.

For a time, Fan Zhongyan was in a dilemma.

This money.

Should it be given?

Let's discuss rationally whether it should be given.