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

Almost in the afternoon when Yelu Zongzhen and Zhang Jian discussed countermeasures, the notification from Song State was in place.

Soon, all the officials of Liao State knew the news.

Because Zhang Jian's news came from the Liao State's spies in Song State, the fast horse was sent to Nanjing as soon as possible, so Yelu Zongzhen got the first-hand information.

Fan Zhongyan sent it to Liao State through official channels, so the news could not be concealed, and naturally it was known by the officials of Liao State.

When the officials of Liao State got the news, they were furious, and even the officials who were originally discussing peace talks shut their mouths. The war faction immediately gained the upper hand, and they all petitioned Yelu Zongzhen to immediately gather troops and march south.

Fortunately, Yelu Zongzhen got the news in advance and discussed it with Zhang Jian. Otherwise, under this situation, I am afraid that he would be forced by the dignitaries and ministers in the country to bite the bullet and send troops.

The problem now is that sending troops will definitely not end well. They have just experienced a great defeat, their morale is low, and their food and grass are still on the way. Naturally, they cannot fight a siege war with the Song Dynasty.

And if you want to achieve the strategic threat of bypassing the Song Dynasty city and directly raiding Hebei, Henan and other places of the Song Dynasty, and plundering the hinterland of the Song Dynasty, it is definitely impossible to rely on the more than 100,000 leather room troops in Yelu Zongzhen's hands. You must summon troops from all over the country.

Otherwise, more than 100,000 troops will go south, and the troops in Hebei Road will block the way back. The main force of the hundreds of thousands of troops of the Song Dynasty will surround them. How long can your cavalry survive by looting in the wild?

The war horses will be tired, and people have to rob everywhere to survive. Although the Song army has two legs, people's endurance is stronger than horses, and the Song army also has about 100,000 cavalry. When you are robbing or the horses are resting, they will take the opportunity to surround you. I am afraid that this army of only more than 100,000 will soon be wiped out.

Therefore, in order to complete this grand strategy, first of all, your army must be stronger than the Song army, and the number of troops must be greater than that of the Song army, so that the destructive power will be greater. Otherwise, if there are not enough soldiers and horses, doing this kind of thing is probably no different from delivering food.

Yelu Zongzhen's ability is not top-notch, but it does not mean that a person with the posthumous title of "Xing" is incompetent, so he naturally understands how dangerous the current situation of the Liao Kingdom is.

Therefore, facing the surging willingness to send troops in the country, as one of the few people who can barely stay sober, Yelu Zongzhen will naturally not agree to their request.

But the emperor of the Liao Kingdom also has many shackles, and it is not something he can solve by overcoming all objections.

Although the Liao Kingdom has completed the transformation from tribal civilization to feudal system, the Liao Kingdom still carries the shadow of grassland nomads and tribal culture in its bones.

The nobles of the Liao Kingdom are not only powerful, but also the leaders of various tribes. If Yelu Zongzhen, facing such an angry situation, forcibly suppresses them, does not fight with the Song Kingdom, but chooses to agree to the conditions of the Song Kingdom, it will be a huge blow to his prestige.

Therefore, Yelu Zongzhen had to think of a way to appease the powerful and powerful at home and to deal with the Song Dynasty in a clever way.

The best result is that the Song Dynasty agreed to their conditions.

But it is probably difficult at present. Now the head of the Political System Institute of the Song Dynasty does not give him any chance at all, and even the previous annual tribute is to be cancelled, which will be a great blow to Yelu Zongzhen's prestige.

For this reason, Yelu Zongzhen was forced to strongly express that he would fight back against the Song Dynasty when he met with the ministers. When he discussed with Zhang Jian privately, he had another way.

On the one hand, he told the ministers that he would gather troops and ask for money, food and troops from the vassal states and tribes, and actively prepare for a decisive battle with the Song Dynasty.

On the other hand, he discussed with Zhang Jian to see if he could continue to send people to talk with the Song Dynasty. Even if he could not increase the currency, he had to maintain the previous annual tribute of 300,000, so that he could report to the country.

Obviously, Yelu Zongzhen was also making preparations for both hands.

Zhao Jun's two-handed preparation was that if the Liao Dynasty agreed to his conditions, the two sides would conclude a peaceful alliance. If they didn't agree, he would incite the vassal states and tribes in the rear of the Liao Kingdom to rebel.

Yelu Zongzhen hoped that Liao and Song would each take a step back. Since the other party was unwilling to increase the currency, the Chanyuan Alliance would be restored.

At the same time, he would test the attitudes of the vassal states and tribes. If their attitudes changed and they were no longer as respectful as before, I'm afraid Yelu Zongzhen would have to suffer a loss and accept the peace talks with the Song Kingdom.

If their attitudes did not change, they would naturally start to act seriously. Whether it was really starting to use that grand strategy or strategic deterrence, they had to act.

Of course.

The premise of all this was that those vassal states and tribes would not fall for Zhao Jun's tricks, and they were all determined to follow Yelu Zongzhen to the end.

So under this circumstance, the Song and Liao countries actually achieved peace for a short time.

It was just surging in secret.

On the surface, Yelu Zongzhen appeased the dignitaries and the pro-war factions of the Liao Kingdom, declared that he would mobilize for war, and then immediately sent people to the major tribes to ask them to send troops and food.

In fact, he maintained frequent correspondence with Fan Zhongyan, expressing his willingness to make concessions and hoping that the Song Dynasty could restore the conditions of the Chanyuan Alliance.

Fan Zhongyan originally wanted to report the Liao envoy's request back to Bianliang, but thinking of Zhao Jun's attitude, he finally decided not to be scolded. He rejected Yelu Zongzhen's intention and also expressed Zhao Jun's attitude.

In fact, it was simple for Yelu Zongzhen to appease the country with money and food. He opened a trade and exchanged resources such as horses and minerals that were previously prohibited from being sold. Both sides got what they needed and benefited each other.

It’s just that the Liao State used to regard the Song State as the Southern Dynasty and itself regarded the Northern Dynasty as the orthodox one. Therefore, it often asked all nations to come to court, placed the Song State’s status below it, and described the Song State’s annual coins as the lower state. The tribute paid to the Liao State caused Yelu Zongzhen to be unwilling to accept the Song State's demand for equal status for both parties.

Secondly, for national strategic resources such as horses and minerals, not only the Liao Kingdom prohibited the sale to foreign countries, but the Song Dynasty also prohibited the export of some strategic resources, such as copper coins, books, sulfur, saltpetre, copper and iron, etc. In the second year of Jingde Emperor Zhenzong of the Song Dynasty also issued an order to restrict the external sales of brocade and silk: "I order Xiongzhou not to be allowed to trade in brocade, damask and silk."

It can be seen that both sides have implemented an embargo on strategic materials. Why can you, the Song Dynasty, still carry out a strategic blockade against us? The Liao Kingdom must now relax controls in this area? Therefore, the Liao Kingdom naturally did not want to agree.

The two sides continued to argue for a long time.

Fan Zhongyan and Zhang Jian even met and talked several times, but the two sides still could not come up with conditions that satisfied the other party.

The main reason is that the conditions on Song State's side have been fixed and cannot be changed.

The Liao Kingdom already thought that it had retreated again and again. For example, they admitted that the Song Kingdom had occupied the land on the south bank of Laishui River, and they had also canceled the increase in currency.

When they first agreed to restore the Chanyuan Alliance, they even hoped that the Song Dynasty would withdraw from the south bank of Laishui River and still use Baigou River as the boundary. Now the Liao Kingdom has taken another step back and admitted that all south of Fan Yang belongs to the Song Dynasty, but it must maintain the Sui currency.

In the eyes of the Liao State, this was already a huge diplomatic failure, but the Song State was still not satisfied. It wanted to cancel the annual currency and restore the relationship between the two countries on an equal footing, leaving the Liao State really helpless.

Therefore, Yelvzong really couldn't reach an agreement, so he had to look at the domestic situation before making a decision.

In the midst of this tug, time passed quickly.

In April of the first year of Emperor Kangxi, in Xijin Mansion, as time went by, Yelu Zongzhen's heart sank deeper and deeper into the bottom of the valley.

In the back garden, Yelu Zongzhen had just impassionedly expressed his attitude to the powerful officials of the main war faction at the court meeting that he must teach the Song Dynasty a lesson. He won the cheers and support of a large number of powerful people, and returned to the back garden in the blink of an eye. His face was livid.

Zhang Jian sat cross-legged in the garden calmly. In the early summer of April, the weather in the north has begun to heat up, and everything is recovering and embracing the sun. The Yanshan Mountains in the north of Xijin Prefecture are already green, and the breeze is blowing, carrying a slight fragrance of flowers.

Yelu Zongzhen broke another letter into pieces and threw it into the brazier in the pavilion. Wine was still roasting on the brazier, but at this time he had no interest in drinking at all.

Because lately, I have always been giving him bad news.

"The Eight Divisions of Enemy Lie also declined. They were only willing to send 8,000 men and only 50,000 husks of food and grass."

Yelu Zongzhen sat opposite Zhang Jian, with a rather ugly expression on his face.

During the reign of his father Shengzong of the Liao Dynasty, the major tribes of other ethnic groups except the Khitan were unified into thirty-four tribes.

These thirty-four tribes became the cornerstone of the Liao Kingdom's political power. They contributed horses, soldiers, and food and grass to the Liao Kingdom. At its peak, the Liao Kingdom had a population of less than nine million and was known as one million soldiers. This was mainly derived from these tribe.

Otherwise, the Khitan people, the main ethnic group of the Liao Kingdom, only had 1.5 million people at most, and they would definitely not be able to provide millions of troops.

Therefore, if Yelu Zong really wanted to call on soldiers and horses from all over the country, naturally he could only give orders to these tribes.

However, the outcome of the matter made him very embarrassed.

The eight enemy tribes have a combined population of 300,000 to 400,000. When all the clans are fighting, it would be no problem to send out an army of 70,000 to 80,000. However, in the end, only a few thousand troops were sent, which is almost like sending out beggars. Yelv Zong's nose almost ran out of breath. crooked.

Zhang Jian sighed: "These tribes are not of the same mind as our Liao Kingdom. It was the late emperor who conquered the south and the north before they surrendered. However, since the late emperor, they have also rebelled many times. Dahuang Shiwei, Xiaohuang Shiwei, Wugu, Cha Are there not many rebellions in the tribes such as La Di, Chu Bo De, Xi Xi, and Dong Xi in recent years?"

"Well, fortunately, I listened to Shangfu's words and did not order them to fight as a whole clan. I just asked them to send people as appropriate. Otherwise, if this order continues, I am afraid that before the Song State can incite it, the Liao State will have rebelled everywhere. ”

Yelu Zongzhen let out a long sigh.

He recalled that when his father, Liao Shengzong, surrendered countless tribes in the north and organized them into thirty-four tribes, he could immediately command 500,000 troops to attack Xixia with a single call. How majestic it was.

As a result, in less than a few decades, the Liao Kingdom declined to this point.

Except for the Eight Enemy Tribes, the other major tribes such as the Five Kingdoms Tribe, the Changbai Mountain Tribe, the Ura Tribe, the Limei Tribe, and the Donghai Nuzhi Tribe all sent less troops and food for various reasons.

During the recent period, Yelu Zongzhen's originally young spirit has been visibly dissipating, and a heavy burden seems to be weighing on him, making him unable to breathe.

"The Song State is no better than Xixia, and the Xixia State is small and poor. Even if it has the strength to threaten us, there is no possibility of destroying the Liao Dynasty. However, the Song State is not weaker than the Liao State, and is even slightly stronger. If it loses the force to suppress it, , it will only make our situation more difficult.”

Zhang Jian said seriously: "Your Majesty, I will speak frankly. The situation in Daliao is already very serious. The ministries that joined because of the strength of Daliao will also leave because of the decline of Daliao. If I, Daliao, forcefully recruit the ministries, It will only give the Song Dynasty an opportunity to take advantage of, so it is better to calm down the situation, resolve the immediate crisis, rectify the country, and reorganize the system vigorously, so that the grand situation of the late emperor's period can be restored. "

"Then according to Father Shang's opinion, can I really only agree to the conditions proposed by the Song Dynasty?"

Yelu Zongzhen frowned.

This will cause a serious blow to his prestige.

Zhang Jian thought deeply: "I thought this was the only way, but when it comes to your Majesty's face, I think there may be other ways."

"oh?"

Yelu Zongzhen asked hurriedly: "How?"

Zhang Jian said: "The Song Dynasty demanded that the two countries be equal, but they did not really do so. They asked us to relax output restrictions on horses, mineral deposits, etc., but they still prohibited the inflow of iron. This is obviously unreasonable. I think that both sides Fully open, that’s what’s appropriate.”

"Um"

Yelu Zongzhen nodded slightly.

Zhang Jian continued: "As for the issue of money and food, it is simple. As far as I know, the price of war horses in the Song Dynasty has risen to one or two hundred guan each. If it is a good horse, it may cost thousands or even tens of thousands of guan." Your Majesty will sell thousands of war horses to the Song Dynasty, and then tell the country that these are the annual coins of the Song Dynasty, and then reward them to everyone. "

Yelu Zong was really stunned, and then said: "How is this different from hiding one's ears and stealing the bell?"

Zhang Jian smiled bitterly and said: "Then what can be done? Nowadays, the Song Dynasty is willing to accept the soft rather than the hard. If you have a good discussion with them, you can exchange it for war horses or mineral deposits, and you can probably get this name back. From now on, this method will be used every year. . And the opening of war horses and mineral deposits is still beneficial to the Liao Kingdom. "

"First appease the country, and then conduct trade exchanges with the Song Dynasty to fill the Liao treasury. As long as the Liao Kingdom can temporarily survive this crisis, and the treasury has money and food, we can strengthen our military force and strengthen our Liao army."

"At that time, many tribes in the country can be subdued, and then the system can be changed to increase national power. The tribes will not dare to make mistakes again, and the situation will be stable."

"When the Liao Kingdom becomes strong and prosperous and restores its grandeur to the times of the late emperor, it may be possible to go south and have another decisive battle with the Song Dynasty."

"But at least for now, we still have to focus on safety."

At the end of the sentence, Zhang Jian was very serious.

In fact, he also knew that even if he and Song State opened up strategic resources to each other, it would be a loss.

Because the Liao State exported resources, the Song State imported resources and then exported finished products, which is somewhat similar to the situation of resource exporting countries and industrial exporting countries in later generations.

Although Zhang Jian certainly didn't know what happened in later generations, as a wise man who could assist Liao Shengzong in creating a great cause, he naturally understood these truths.

So why would he hope so?

However, the Liao Kingdom is now facing these dilemmas. If the export of resources does not alleviate domestic conflicts, I am afraid that the Liao Kingdom will only become more and more declining.

Even if Yelu Zong really endures this bad breath and does not negotiate peace with the Song Dynasty, but just stops sending troops to invade south, this will not alleviate the domestic problems. Each tribe will see the decline of the Liao Kingdom, and their rebellious hearts will only grow stronger. .

By that time, even if the Liao State does not go to war with the Song State, it will fall into endless internal strife, suppress rebellions, and eventually perish.

Therefore Zhang Jian's path is correct.

First, use strategic materials to exchange money and grain from the Song Dynasty to tide over the difficulties. While appeasing the various tribes, first strengthen the Liao Kingdom itself.

After the military force that the Liao Kingdom relied on for its livelihood returned to strength, it continued to subdue many tribes and maintain the stability of the regime.

Only when the regime was stabilized could they have the capital to continue fighting the Song Dynasty.

But again.

This means that the Liao Kingdom will give up its former status as the eldest brother in East Asia and become equal to the Song Kingdom.

In addition, hundreds of thousands of yuan in unearned income will be lost every year.

Not only did his international status decline slightly, but he also lost money from the Song Dynasty in vain. How could anyone accept this?

So after listening to Zhang Jian's words, Yelu Zongzhen just sat there, unable to respond for a long time.