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

A few days later, the court's small request for peace talks was also sent to the front line.

Zhao Jun told Fan Zhongyan in the letter that he could hint to the Liao State and let them publicize that the Song State would continue to send New Year's coins, and it didn't matter whether it was "offer" or "acceptance", but the money must be increased!

As for the Song Dynasty, it will definitely not be recognized in the country. Anyway, the Liao Kingdom can use any excuse. For example, they can promote that the Song Dynasty abolished the annual currency for the sake of face.

But no matter what, if the Liao Kingdom wants this face, it has to give money, otherwise don't blame the Song Dynasty for beating his Yelu Zong's face to pieces.

Who made them lose on the battlefield?

What soldiers cannot get back on the battlefield, you, a diplomat, want to get back through negotiation just by your mouth.

Dreaming.

After Fan Zhongyan received the reply from the court, he read it and found that there was nothing wrong with it, so he immediately sent it to Xijin Mansion.

Soon Yelu Zongzhen also got the conditions proposed by the Song Dynasty. He felt that an extra fifty thousand yuan was too much, so he tried to push Fan Zhongyan back, hoping to pay less.

However, all of these were rejected by Fan Zhongyan.

joke.

This is the condition put forward by Zhao Jun. It is a matter of ironclad certainty, and no one can change it.

So after more than ten days, Yelu Zongzhen finally agreed to Song Guo's request with difficulty and chose to use money to settle the matter.

Because several large tribes in the rear rebelled, he really couldn't hold back.

Yelu Zong was really helpless.

In fact, the situation in Liao Kingdom at this time was more severe than he imagined.

In the first battle of Helan Mountain between Yelu Zongzhen and Xixia in history, the Liao army returned with a huge defeat, and several tribes rebelled in the rear.

If Li Yuanhao had not been poor and weak and was unable to support the rebellion in the rear of the Liao Kingdom, but instead chose to immediately make peace with Yelv Zongzhen so that Yelv Zongzhen could calmly return to put down the rebellion, I am afraid that the Liao Kingdom would have been seriously injured even if he did not die.

The Song Dynasty was different from Xixia. There was plenty of money to support the rebellion in the rear of the Liao Kingdom.

When Yelu Zong really goes to the grassland to quell the rebellion, the Northeast will rebel. He went to the Northeast to quell the rebellion, but the grasslands rebelled again, and he was exhausted from running for his life.

Therefore, if Yelvzong really refuses to give in now, he will cry when the rear of Liao Kingdom is full of flames and smoke in the second half of this year.

Under such circumstances, the two parties finally negotiated good terms.

After the Song Dynasty court came to the peace talks with the Liao Kingdom, it immediately announced this great military and diplomatic victory, and spread the news throughout the world through Dibao and newspapers.

After hearing the news, the civil and military officials of the entire court could not believe it. Who would have thought that peace talks with the Liao Kingdom could really be realized?

The common people were celebrating and praising the imperial court for its wisdom.

For a time, the people who were originally complaining suddenly became excited again. Discussions about this matter were everywhere in the streets and alleys, and the morale of the people was extremely high.

It is true that the Song Dynasty suffered too much humiliation from the Liao Kingdom.

From the Battle of Gaoliang River to the Alliance of Chanyuan, the Song Dynasty made mistakes at every step. The Liao Kingdom put a knife on its neck and forced it to sign a treaty that was humiliating and humiliating the country.

But today, the Song Dynasty can be said to have avenged its previous humiliation. Not only did it defeat the Liao Kingdom, it also achieved such a great diplomatic victory. The two countries suddenly experienced earth-shaking changes from their unequal status.

This naturally made the people of the Song Dynasty, who had endured many years of humiliation, extremely excited.

The reputations of Zhao Zhen, Zhao Jun and Fan Zhongyan are also rising among the people. People all over the Song Dynasty praised the officials' brilliance and martial prowess, Zhao Jun's foresight, and Fan Zhongyan's victorious battles.

Zhao Jun and Fan Zhongyan can understand. After all, they have accumulated popularity during their travels in the world, and coupled with their determined war faction, Zhao Jun also proposed the conditions for this peace negotiation. His tough stance has long been resounding in the hearts of the people of Bianliang. It’s been a long time.

Fan Zhongyan won the Song-Xia War and the Song-Liao War, and his powerful military ability was engraved in the hearts of the people.

What does that have to do with Zhao Zhen?

The emperor.

Fan Zhongyan and Zhao Jun naturally owe all this to the wise and decisive decision of our Emperor of the Song Dynasty.

Fan Zhongyan and Zhao Jun wrote articles in the newspapers, both of which praised Zhao Zhen to the sky.

The common people didn't know the truth and thought it was Zhao Zhen who chose Fan Zhongyan to fight and Zhao Jun to govern against all opinions. They all praised the officials for knowing people well and making good use of them. They didn't know that this guy had always been a weakling.

Zhao Zhen laughed so hard when he heard the people's praise for him that he chose Fu Bi as his envoy and headed north to sign a contract with the Liao Kingdom.

So at the end of June in the first year of Emperor Kangxi, Fu Bi went to Xijin Mansion in the Liao Kingdom with a mission.

Both parties sign a clear contract.

That is to say, in order to preserve the true face of Yelu Zong, the first article stipulates that the Song Dynasty will still give the Liao Kingdom 300,000 years old coins every year, but it is not a "receipt" of the coins from the Chanyuan Alliance, but a "gift" of the coins. But privately, the Liao Kingdom had to exchange supplies, paying with one hand and delivering the goods with the other.

Second, the Liao State gave the Song State seven counties: Fanyang, Laishui, Yixian, Rongcheng, Guiyi, Gu'an, and Yongqing on the south bank of Laishui River. It turned out that the Song Dynasty required ten counties, including Feihu (Laiyuan), Anci (Langfang), and Wuqing (Tianjin) counties.

However, the Liao Kingdom severely rejected this request. After all, the Song Army only occupied those seven counties. Feihu, Anci and Wuqing are still in the hands of the Liao Kingdom. It would be too rude to force them to do so. What is the difference between them and cession?

Although the Liao Kingdom had completely forgotten how they asked the Song Kingdom to cede the ten counties south of the Guan River, Zhao Jun did not dwell on this point. The main reason was that the Liao Kingdom would definitely not agree. If they wanted to get it, they had to fight. However, adhering to the idea of ​​not fighting unless necessary, they did not force the Liao Kingdom to take it back.

But even so, the Liao Kingdom cut off a large piece of meat, which was equivalent to Yi County, Laishui County, Dingxing County, Zhuozhou City, Gu'an County and Yongqing County in Hebei Province in later generations. It basically completed the encirclement of Xijin Prefecture in Nanjing, Liao Kingdom. It can be said that the Song Kingdom obtained a large strategic area.

Third, the two sides opened a market on both sides of the border of Laishui to trade, allowing all commodities to circulate freely and not to interfere. Public security and regional affairs were jointly managed by the Liao Kingdom and the Song Kingdom, and taxes were determined by the nationality of the merchants of both parties.

If Song merchants sold things, the sales income tax would be collected by the Song Kingdom. If Liao merchants sold things, the income tax would be collected by the Liao Kingdom.

Fourth, the Song Dynasty will restore all diplomatic relations that were previously severed with the Liao Dynasty and maintain contact with envoys, but will cancel all expenses for receiving envoys. The expenses of the envoys on the road can only be paid by themselves. After arriving in Kaifeng, the Song Dynasty will only provide food and accommodation, and there will be no other reception expenses.

Fifth, Liao and Song signed a non-aggression pact. If one party tears up the treaty, the other party will regard the other party as a hostile country. This time, because the Liao Dynasty invaded first, the relationship between Song and Liao should be completely severed, and the Liao Dynasty should be required to compensate for all war losses. However, considering that peace is the expectation of the people of both countries, the Liao Dynasty should be given another chance. Don't say that I didn't warn you!

Sixth, Song and Liao will use Laishui as the boundary, and both sides will withdraw their troops. From now on, any thieves and fugitives who cross the border will not be hidden by each other. The border cities of the two dynasties are normal. They are not allowed to build city gods, increase troops to the border privately, or rashly send troops across the border to capture thieves and fugitives without notice. If violated, it will be regarded as aggression.

The seventh and last one was to restore the name of the brothers of Song and Liao, with Song as the elder brother and Liao as the younger brother. In the future, only when the emperors of both sides celebrated their birthdays would they send envoys to celebrate each other, and it was stipulated that the gifts of both sides would be unified to 200,000 strings of cash, instead of the old way that the elder brother took care of the younger brother and often gave more birthday gifts.

A series of treaties were signed, and Zhao Zhen had already sealed the jade seal on the Song side, and Yelu Zongzhen had sealed the jade seal on the Liao side, in two copies. One was a sheepskin scroll of the Liao, and the other was paper of the Song. They were exchanged and collected by each other, becoming a formal contract.

Soon, after the signing of the treaty, the Liao side exchanged 3,000 war horses for 500,000 strings of "annual tribute", and then Yelu Zongzhen announced to the ministers in Nanjing Xijin Prefecture that this time a major diplomatic victory had been achieved.

Although the seven counties on the south bank of the Laishui River had been occupied by the Song State and could not be taken back, the Song State not only offered hundreds of thousands of strings of cash to buy land, but also promised to continue to pay annual tribute in exchange for the Liao State to calm down.

Then in August, Yelu Zongzhen sold several thousand war horses to the Song Dynasty and collected a million strings of cash, which was considered as a report to the ministers.

The ministers of the Liao Dynasty were not fools. Even if they did not know the deal behind Yelu Zongzhen, it was a fact that the south bank of the Laishui River would not be recovered. They lost the battle and the land, but they claimed a great victory. It seemed that the Liao ruler was collaborating with the enemy and selling out the country.

But it was easy to talk with money.

Yelu Zongzhen gave the army reward money, and the army finally stabilized its morale. He also gave rewards to the ministers and appeased the war faction. Under this circumstance, the Liao Dynasty's war faction was considered to have stopped.

After all, except for those who did not experience the Battle of Baozhou, most of the other generals who experienced that battle remained silent.

No one wanted to face the grenades and artillery of the Song army again.

Under such circumstances, supporting Yelu Zongzhen's decision and getting the reward money from the Liao lord for selling horses has become the common interest of the army. No matter how much the other war factions clamor, how can they be tougher than the army?

Therefore, under such a tacit understanding of most people, Yelu Zongzhen barely pacified the dissatisfaction of the Liao nobles. The rest is to appease the tribes and stabilize the situation in the Liao.

In early September, both Song and Liao began to withdraw troops on a large scale.

The Song State stationed officials in the seven counties on the south bank of the newly occupied Laishui River, set up trading markets, and redeployed and controlled the army.

Fan Zhongyan still presided over the army in Hebei Road. First, he had to govern the local area, second, arrange the defense line, and third, continue to contact the Liao Kingdom to complete the subsequent trade after the signing of the treaty.

For example, buying and selling horses and minerals, opening trading markets, formulating relevant rules and regulations, etc., all take time.

It was not until November that Fan Zhongyan sorted out the entire Hebei Road a little bit. On November 24, he was transferred back to the central government by Zhao Zhen with a decree.

The weather turned cold at the end of the year. This year, it snowed in Bianliang. The snowflakes were flying, but they didn't cover the ground. They just snowed. The ground was wet. The cold wind was blowing, which could make people shiver.

Fan Zhongyan put on a thick military coat and passed through Guoqiao Town. He went south and entered the city from the north gate of Bianliang. He took the land route, crossed the river in Liyang, and went to Chenqiao Town in the northeast of Bianliang. Obviously, it was faster.

But when he arrived in Changyuan County, he remembered a serious problem-Chenqiao Mutiny.

Old Fan had to take a long detour and enter the city from the northwest of Kaifeng.

At Yuetai Pavilion outside the city, Zhao Jun led the civil and military officials to come to greet on behalf of Zhao Zhen.

From a distance, Fan Zhongyan appeared at the end of the road with only dozens of guards. After seeing the large group of people near the pavilion, he quickened his pace and urged the horses to gallop.

As soon as the horse ran faster, the cold wind blew. Although he was supported by the military coat, the runny nose almost froze Lao Fan. His face hurt, so he had to endure it.

When he finally got close, he couldn't wait to get off his horse and walked towards Zhao Jun and others.

"Hanlong!"

"Hahahaha, Lao Fan!"

Zhao Jun went up and gave him a bear hug, patted his shoulder and said, "You are famous all over the world now."

"Xiwen, this time the Constitutional Yuan is changing, you have to come up."

Lu Yijian came over and said sourly.

"Xiwen, well done!"

Yan Shu came up to help him brush the snow off his shoulders, and said with a smile: "Promote the prestige of the Song Dynasty."

Wang Zeng said: "It's so cold outside, let's go back to the palace quickly."

"Yes, His Majesty is waiting."

The old man Sheng Du also came, also wearing a military coat, but his nose was almost cold.

Although cotton has been promoted in Guangdong, it is the ancestor of high-yield cotton in later generations. Without careful cultivation and selection of improved varieties, the yield and quality will definitely not increase.

There is nothing we can do about it, we can only forcefully promote it, and then select it from generation to generation to cultivate better cotton.

Therefore, although cotton has taken root and sprouted in Guangdong over the past few years, cotton has not yet become the main cold-proof clothing in the country. Now, the warm military coat invented by Zhao Jun, a powerful figure in the imperial court, was given to ministers by Zhao Zhen.

However, Zhao Jun ordered cotton to be included in Guangdong's tax system two years ago, and it was still purchased at market price. You must know that cotton was produced in the Song Dynasty, and the price was quite high. At the market price, farmers made a lot of money.

Therefore, driven by this, people are very enthusiastic about growing cotton. At present, even in the coldest month of winter, the temperature in Guangdong is still 17 or 18 degrees, which is very suitable for the growth of cotton.

Zhao Jun's next goal is actually not to conquer Southeast Asia, but to send people to establish trade routes with several Southeast Asian countries such as Champa (Vietnam), Bagan (Myanmar), and Angkor (Cambodia, Thailand, Laos), and bring down the Cotton promotion goes there.

In this way, the production cost directly became the Southeast Asian countries, and the Song Dynasty could import grain, cotton, wood, spices, minerals and other resources from Southeast Asia and transport them to Guangdong, and then transport them to the mainland via canals and waterways, forming a transaction chain.

In fact, such maritime trade already existed as early as the Tang Dynasty, and it was called the Maritime Silk Road. However, due to the rich products in the Tang and Song Dynasties, only wood spices were imported from Southeast Asia.

Grain, cotton and minerals are commodities that Zhao Jun believes can be added, and due to the long-term trade surplus of the Song Dynasty, there will be no losses at all.

The most interesting thing is that according to historical records, the Song Dynasty imported a large amount of foreign copper mines at low prices, and then processed them into copper coins from the country, and then spent the Song Dynasty's copper coins to buy foreign resources. It was no different from robbing money.

On the way, Zhao Jun invited Fan Zhongyan to get on the carriage.

It was much warmer in the carriage, because there was a small heater in the carriage, and Lao Fan almost pressed his hands on the stove in excitement.

"It's been too cold lately."

Fan Zhongyan complained: "If there really is a war this year, I'm afraid I won't be able to withstand it."

"hehe."

Zhao Jun said with a smile: "Don't worry, we can't stand it. It's even colder in the north. Guess why Yelu Zongzhen sold so many livestock to us so readily?"

"If we don't sell it, we'll freeze to death."

Fan Zhongyan laughed, then shook his head and said: "Even the current price of horses is too expensive. During the late emperor's time, it was only forty or fifty guan, but now it has increased to one or two hundred guan. This has given the Liao Kingdom a big advantage."

"There is no way. The Liao Kingdom and Xixia have long blocked the source of our horses. Our only channel is to buy them from Qingtang. The supply is not proportional, so the price is naturally high. However, the Liao Kingdom gave in, and Li Yuanhao also gave in, and lowered the price. The tables are up, and after their exchange allows horse sales, the price will fall.”

Zhao Jun shook his head, then smiled and said: "So let the Liao Kingdom take advantage now. But we have 10,000 more elite cavalry. They have been trained for two years and are a good helper against the Liao Kingdom."

You still have to buy a war horse. This thing is the same as having a sword in your hand and having a sword in your hand. At least before World War I, cavalry was still the main force. Before tanks and cars appeared, it was not a bad thing to stock up on war horses.

So although most of what the Liao State took this time was in exchange for war horses, the Song State also gritted its teeth and endured it.

The main thing is not to look at the fact that the Song Dynasty had more than 200,000 cavalry in the Ming Dynasty. In fact, there were about 100,000 horses, and the elite cavalry with good war horses did not exceed 50,000 or 60,000. The rest of the cavalry were either old, weak or thin. Compared with those strong and good horses in Xixia, Liao Kingdom, they are far behind.

Who makes horses expensive?

Even if they trade with Qingtang, they firstly don't have that many war horses to supply, and secondly, they also need war horses to form cavalry to resist Li Yuanhao, which causes the Song Dynasty to be short of horses to the core.

Fan Zhongyan nodded after hearing this, and then the carriage slowly drove into the city. He curiously opened the curtains and looked out: "I haven't been back to Bianliang for almost four years. I really don't know what Bianliang has developed into now." Look."

He saw that there were not many pedestrians on the street, and the city roads did not change much. They seemed to be the same as before.

"What can you see in the winter? It's usually very lively. There are people in the streets and alleys. In August, the peace contract with the Liao Kingdom was signed. After the news was published in the newspapers, the people spontaneously took to the streets to celebrate. It was lively for several days. Woolen cloth."

Zhao Jun smiled.

"That's it. I mean you've been working in Bianliang for so long, and there haven't been any other changes?"

Fan Zhongyan was a little disappointed.

Why do you feel like it's still the same as before?

"Who says there has been no change? Large-scale reforms have not been implemented yet, but there are still some small system changes, such as business innovation. Now Bianliang's business growth is at least 30% higher than before. The official system has also been reformed, which has greatly improved the efficiency of the government. ”

Zhao Jun counted the treasures on his fingers and said: "There are also textile factories, schools, waterwheel factories, and even steel mills. I have opened one. What do you think?"

"Steelworks?"

Fan Zhongyan was shocked and said: "Can it be done now?"

"It's just a small steel mill."

Zhao Jun said: "This kind of thing is actually a name, just like the iron-making workshop in the city. It does not mean that a steel-making plant is fully mechanized. The mechanization did not come from the first industrial revolution, it is just pure steel-making. "

Fan Zhongyan asked in confusion: "What use is it like an iron-making workshop?"

"Experimenting steelmaking technology."

Zhao Jun pointed at himself and said: "I study history. I have to practice the Bessway air steelmaking method and the Bessemer converter steelmaking method."

“These steelmaking methods are the mechanical technology of the future?”

Fan Zhongyan asked tentatively.

"Not really, it's just production skills at most, because the steelmaking procedures of the first industrial revolution are actually similar to those in ancient times. The difference lies in the efficiency of steelmaking, and these steelmaking rules are ways to increase efficiency. If you want to achieve mechanical production, We have to keep working hard.”

Zhao Jun explained: "For example, the steam engine is a product that increases efficiency, so now we have to find the best way from the original steelmaking method to increase steel production to meet production needs."

"I see, this is similar to the method of frying steel that appeared in the Han Dynasty, and the method of pouring steel that appeared in the Tang Dynasty."

Fan Zhongyan suddenly realized.

"Um."

Zhao Jun nodded: "The era of large-scale steelmaking will inevitably lead to efficiency. Besides, I also understand the principles of steam engines, so I can directly promote social change without having to wait for decades for the emergence of steam engines."

The first industrial revolution occurred in the 1860s. Although steam engines existed at that time, they were of little use. It was not until the end of the 18th century that Watt's improved steam engines were officially used in industry.

So in the final analysis, the first industrial revolution did not require steam engines, oil, rubber, etc.

Zhao Jun only talked about this concept in general terms in the early days. Little did he know at that time that he had traveled to ancient times, so at that time he was describing the conditions and later development of the Industrial Revolution. Now that he is actually putting it into practice, he still has to follow the laws of development of things. , instead of asking for petroleum rubber immediately.

"That would be great."

Fan Zhongyan smiled.

"Everything is ready now, all we need is the east wind."

"Dongfeng, what do you owe Dongfeng?"

"You are Dongfeng!"

The carriage stopped slowly, Zhao Jun got off the carriage, looked outside at the towering Xuanwu Gate of the north gate of Bianliang Palace, and said with a smile: "Let's go, everyone is waiting for you!"

After defeating Xixia and defeating the power of the Liao Kingdom, Fan Zhongyan could finally return to his country and start the New Deal Reform!