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

With the compromise and balance of all forces, the new round of the Political System Council was completed.

The original Political System Council had nine people.

There were three prime ministers and three councilors, including Lü Yijian, plus Yan Shu, Fan Zhongyan and Zhao Jun.

Now it has become twelve people.

The former prime minister Wang Sui was reduced, and Zhang Shixun, Jiang Tang, Jia Changchao and Li Di were added.

In addition, Cheng Lin from the Ministry of Finance, Zhang Dexiang from the Ministry of War, Han Ju from the Ministry of Works, and Li Zi from the Ministry of Industry and Commerce were four alternate Tongzhi.

Although the alternate Tongzhi was higher than the deputy prime minister, he was excluded from the core circle from this term, because Zhao Jun's secret was not intended to be told to them, so naturally he did not enjoy the status of Yan Shu and Fan Zhongyan in the past.

In the final analysis, Zhao Jun's secret from the future is a symbol of the core layer of the Political System Council. Again, under this secret, everyone's communication cost becomes lower, and speaking is more casual.

And this secret also helps Zhao Jun's authority. After all, once a person in the future who is familiar with history is identified, everyone will naturally be willing to listen to him.

Although people's hearts are unpredictable, everyone who came in had factions. Even Jiang Tang had a good relationship with Zhao Jun at the beginning, so there was naturally a balance between factions.

As long as the two major factions of Lu Dang and Wang Dang were maintained, with a few swing factions in the middle, Zhao Jun would be the leader, and there would be fewer disputes.

Once an internal fight occurred, Zhao Jun and Zhao Zhen would always be in the middle to make decisions, so that everyone would not make too much noise.

As time passed, the end of the year was approaching, and the first year of Kangding came to an end.

Just as the Song Dynasty had just won the war with the Liao Kingdom and achieved a huge victory in diplomacy, the people were celebrating the whole country and happily celebrating the New Year.

The Western Xia was quite miserable.

In the second year of Baoyuan, Fan Zhongyan launched a self-defense counterattack against Xia. He accused Li Yuanhao of launching a surprise attack on the Song Dynasty and refused to repent, so he brazenly sent troops to attack the heartland of Western Xia.

Although most of the Song army was blocked by the Western Xia army at the border, under the leadership of Zhang Kang, they still caused serious damage to the rear of Western Xia.

This behavior seriously hurt Li Yuanhao, so much so that he couldn't even launch an attack with the Liao Kingdom the following year.

Later, Li Yuanhao realized that it was very likely that the Song Kingdom had already noticed the possibility that the Liao Kingdom would also go south, so Fan Zhongyan suddenly sent troops before leaving, which made it impossible for him to intervene at the same time when the Song and Liao wars started.

After realizing this, Li Yuanhao was also very regretful. If he had known earlier, he should have been more vigilant and made good defense in the rear, otherwise this situation would not have occurred.

But things have come to this point, and it is futile.

Li Yuanhao was crippled by the Song Dynasty's active attack, and he could only choose to shrink back, lick his wounds, and wait for the result of the Song-Liao war.

Unfortunately, the result did not let him get what he wanted. The Liao Kingdom led hundreds of thousands of troops to the south, but also returned in defeat.

Seeing this ending, Li Yuanhao was already disheartened.

In October of the first year of Emperor Kang, the content of the peace talks between Song and Liao at the end of August had already reached Xixia. At this time, in Xingqing Prefecture, in Yuanhao Palace, it was snowing heavily outside, and Li Yuanhao's mood was as cold as the snow outside.

He was cruel and bloodthirsty. Because of anger, he even killed several servants in the past year, and even Zhang Yuan was almost killed by him.

Because the Song army spread rumors that Zhang Yuan was an undercover sent by them.

Although such a simple counter-espionage plan may not work, many times, for the superiors, they would rather believe it than not believe it.

Wasn't Lian Po replaced by such a low-level counter-espionage plan?

So Li Yuanhao really wanted to kill Zhang Yuan at that time.

Fortunately, Zhang Yuan was good at speaking and arguing. He noticed Li Yuanhao's murderous intention and hurriedly expressed his loyalty to Li Yuanhao, and said that this was a counter-espionage plan of the Song army, asking him not to be fooled, etc., which extinguished Li Yuanhao's intention to kill him.

In history, Li Yuanhao was tricked by a counter-espionage plan and killed two generals, Yeli Yuqi and Yeli Wangrong. This was carefully planned by Zhong Shiheng.

In addition, Yuanhao had won several great victories at that time and had an advantage in the war against Song State. The importance of the two generals became lower. Under the situation of suspicion of the two generals, he was naturally able to fall into the trap.

But now he has suffered two disastrous defeats, and people's hearts are floating. It is obviously inappropriate to kill again.

Moreover, the Song army did not make any arrangements for Zhang Yuan's counter-espionage plan. It was purely a joke by the border army, saying that Zhang Yuan brought Li Yuanhao to attack, causing Li Yuanhao to lose soldiers and generals, and was their undercover.

Therefore, Li Yuanhao was not so stupid to kill a talented military advisor based on rumors without any evidence.

After calming down, Li Yuanhao immediately appeased Zhang Yuan.

Today, the palace is discussing matters.

Li Yuanhao is with several important ministers.

The charcoal fire in the house is lit, and through the window next to it, you can see the rustling snowflakes flying.

He was wearing a thick fur coat, which made him warm, but his face looked very ugly. He looked around and sighed, "Everyone, where should I go for my Great Xia?"

Zhang Yuan looked heavy-hearted. He actually knew the current situation. Xixia could only return to the situation of being a vassal of Liao and Song, and not offending either side.

But as a "failed scholar", a legendary profession that "produced many heroes" in ancient and modern times, Zhang Yuan's self-esteem told him that he wanted to take revenge on the Song Dynasty and must not let Xixia be a vassal of Song as before.

So he chose to remain silent.

However, another minister and counselor, Yang Shousu, did not have such concerns. He advised Li Yuanhao: "Your Majesty, even the powerful Liao Kingdom was defeated by the Song army's firearms. This is enough to show that the defeat of Daxia was not a crime of war. It should be considered in the long term." ”

"Tell me something."

Li Yuanhao held back his patience and asked, "What should we do now?"

"We should immediately start peace talks with the Liao and Song Dynasties, and surrender to the Liao and Song Dynasties as before."

Yang Shousu said frankly: "Only in this way can we turn around, otherwise it will be detrimental to us to continue fighting with the Song Dynasty."

Yeli Wangrong was also a very thoughtful person. He also advised: "Yes, Your Majesty, the current situation no longer allows us to fight with the Song Dynasty again. Peace talks are the best option."

"Peace talks?"

Li Yuanhao pondered for a moment and sighed: "It's really frustrating."

After saying that, he looked at Zhang Yuandao: "Lei Fu, what do you think?"

Zhang Yuan saw that Li Yuanhao was still reluctant to part with the emperor's great cause. After thinking for a moment, he said seriously: "Your Majesty, it is indeed necessary to negotiate peace, but your Majesty should not be unwilling. The Liao people will definitely win over us, and there will still be a war between the Liao and Song Dynasties. ”

"oh?"

Li Yuanhao asked: "Why?"

Zhang Yuan said: "First, the Song Dynasty defeated the Liao Kingdom, which greatly reduced the prestige of the Liao Kingdom. How could the Yelv Sect really let it go?"

"Um."

Li Yuanhao nodded thoughtfully.

"The Song State has strong firearms. Even if we don't talk about prestige, firearms have seriously threatened the status of the Liao State. How could the Liao State not be afraid?"

Zhang Yuan analyzed: "With these two items, I can be sure that within three to five years, there will be a war between the Liao and Song Dynasties. But this time the Liao Kingdom was defeated, they also need to recuperate, so they temporarily stopped their activities and recuperated."

"Since the Liao people are afraid, what if they dare not act?"

Li Yuanhao asked.

Zhang Yuan said with a smile: "If the Liao people dare not do anything, they will definitely not win over us. But please wait patiently, your majesty. If my prediction is not bad, the Liao envoys will come soon."

"You mean that the Liao envoy will take the initiative to come to discuss with us?"

Li Yuanhao was surprised.

"nature."

Zhang Yuan said in a deep voice: "The Song Dynasty has strong firearms. The Liao Kingdom will never dare to face it alone again. It will definitely seek an alliance with us. Then it will be our opportunity."

"Um"

Li Yuanhao nodded slightly.

Zhang Yuan took the opportunity to suggest: "Your Majesty can present your favor to the Song State and form an alliance with the Liao State at the same time. First, open a border settlement to nourish the country. When the time comes, the Song State will pay for its blood debt with blood!"

In fact, Li Yuanhao was not unaware of the situation he was facing now. After two major defeats, the people's livelihood in the country was in decline, prices were soaring, and herders from various tribes were complaining and suffering unspeakably.

In addition, the enemy attacked the hinterland of his hometown and suffered heavy losses, which greatly reduced Li Yuanhao's prestige. Now it is impossible to launch a war.

The only way is to immediately send an envoy to ask for forgiveness from the Song State, and then declare tribute to the Song State.

But Li Yuanhao really couldn't bear this face.

A few years ago, he established a country with great power and proclaimed himself emperor. However, in the blink of an eye, he was beaten to the point of calling him daddy. His face was completely lost. He was simply thrown into his grandma's house in disgrace.

Although as a hero, things like face don't matter, but if Xixia continues like this, it may become an international joke.

Where will his majesty be at home and abroad then? Where is the prestige? Where is the human heart?

So Li Yuanhao is really in trouble.

But there is no point in holding on. The Song State closed the border areas, making the domestic situation in Xixia worse and worse.

The specialty products of the northwest could not be sold, and the tea needed by the party members could not be brought in. Many people could only buy tea at high prices from Qingtanghua. Demand exceeded the supply of goods, rising production costs and other reasons caused inflation, which brought the Xixia economy to the verge of collapse.

In addition, there is another reason why Li Yuanhao is unwilling to accept it, that is, once he officially sends an envoy to the Song Dynasty, it means that he will deprive himself of the throne, accept the canonization of the Song Dynasty again, and become the king of Xixia.

This was hard for him to accept.

But the reality was not optimistic either. No matter how he could not accept it, he had to consider what would happen to the country if he continued to have a long-term military confrontation with the Song Dynasty and did not conduct trade.

I'm afraid it won't be long before many Dangxiang tribes will revolt and overthrow him, the leader of the Dangxiang tribes.

Therefore, Li Yuanhao could only ask his advisers to give him a reason.

Zhang Yuan gave the reason.

That is to say, the Liao Kingdom will definitely not be willing to give up. They will still have a chance when the time comes.

As long as Li Yuanhao endures for a while, surrenders to Song, and waits for Song to agree to mutual trade, he can recuperate like Liao and develop domestic military, economy, people's livelihood, etc.

In a few years, when Xixia and Liao Kingdoms have recovered from their serious injuries, Yelu Zongzhen will form an alliance with him, and they will be able to fight to the death against the Song Kingdom and take revenge!

"well."

Li Yuanhao understood what Zhang Yuan meant, but sighed: "I'm still unwilling!"

"Your Majesty, when the State of Yue was almost destroyed by the State of Wu, Gou Jian suffered from hardships and finally destroyed the State of Wu and succeeded in revenge."

Zhang Yuan advised: "If you want to achieve great things, you need to learn to be patient. Forbearance at this time is for victory in the future. Even if you are defeated for a while, you cannot be a hero. Only the winner in the end can show his true colors!"

"Um!"

Li Yuanhao said in a deep voice: "That's it! Send an envoy to the Song Dynasty!"

The first year of Kangding was destined to be an extraordinary year for the three countries.

At the beginning of the year, Liao and Song fought a decisive battle in Baozhou, and Liao was defeated.

The two sides launched a diplomatic tug-of-war for more than half a year, and finally ended with Song's great diplomatic victory.

In the second half of the year, Xixia learned about the peace talks between Song and Liao, and could not sit still, so it had to send envoys to pay tribute.

In November, Liao envoys also went to Xixia, and the two sides signed a strategic alliance treaty.

This treaty was held in secret, and the two sides agreed that if a full-scale war with Song would break out in the future, one side would start fighting, and the other side would immediately rush to help.

Obviously, the strength of Song made Yelu Zongzhen unable to sit still. In addition to easing the increasingly sharp contradictions in the country, he also had to actively seek foreign aid and work with allies to deal with Song.

Song did not know about this situation for the time being, but the internal response of Song also knew about the Liao envoy's visit to Xixia. The people in the Political System Institute knew what tricks Liao and Xia were up to.

However, this was something Zhao Jun and others could guess, so it didn't matter.

Even though Song and Liao signed peace talks, Liao was trying to stabilize the situation, and Song was also trying to win time for development and reform its internal problems and contradictions.

As long as Song was given a few years, it would have money, food, soldiers, artillery, grenades, and even flintlock rifles. What was the point of Liao and Xia forming an alliance?

So Song did not care about their alliance, nor did it actively try to destroy their alliance.

At the end of the year, Xixia envoys negotiated with Pang Ji, the governor of the Song Dynasty in the northwest at that time, on specific matters.

The content of the treaty was finally determined.

First, seek peace.

Second, Xixia Emperor Li Yuanhao demoted himself to king and paid tribute to Song.

Third, Xixia must offer Song 1,000 sheep, 500 cattle, 500 war horses, and 300 camels every year.

Fourth, the two sides opened a market for mutual trade at the border, allowing all commodities to be freely circulated and traded, and no interference was allowed. Public security and regional affairs were jointly managed by Xixia and Song, and taxes were determined by the nationality of the merchants of both parties.

5. Xixia must pay tribute to the Song Dynasty every year for the Qianyuan Festival (the birthday of Emperor Renzong of Song) and congratulations.

6. Song will restore all diplomatic relations with Xixia that were previously severed and maintain contact with envoys, but will cancel all expenses for receiving envoys. Both sides can only pay for their own expenses on the way to send envoys. After arriving in Kaifeng, Song will only provide food and accommodation, and there will be no other reception expenses.

7. Song and Xia sign a non-aggression pact. If one party tears up the treaty, the other party will regard the other party as an enemy. This time, because Xia invaded first, the relationship between Song and Liao should be completely severed, and Xia should be required to compensate for all war losses, but considering that peace is the expectation of the people of both countries, Xia will be given another chance, don't say it was not warned!

8. Song and Xia will use the original border as the boundary, and both sides will withdraw their troops. From now on, any thieves and fugitives who cross the border will not be allowed to hide. In the border cities of the two dynasties, everything should be normal. No city gods should be built, no troops should be sent to the border without permission, and no troops should be sent across the border to capture thieves and fugitives without notice. Any violation will be regarded as invasion.

9. Song agreed to buy special products such as blue salt, saffron, fur, etc. produced by Xixia to alleviate the current situation of economic collapse caused by the accumulation of special products in Xixia, but it must be ceded to Song, and Xixia must not prohibit all prohibited items including war horses and minerals from Song. At the same time, like the Liao Kingdom, both sides lifted all embargoes.

A series of peace talks, and finally the Xixia envoy went to Bianliang, the Great Song Dynasty, to meet with the emperor, and then after confirmation, the seal was stamped. Finally, the Great Song Emperor granted Li Yuanhao the title of Special Advancement and Inspector of the Imperial Tutor and the Governor of Dingnan Army, the Observer of Xiayin Suiyoujing and other states, and the title of King of Xixia, and the peace talks ended.

For Li Yuanhao's knowledge of the times, the Great Song Dynasty naturally welcomed him with both hands. In this way, the Liao Kingdom and Xixia negotiated and the foreign invasion came to a temporary end.

In this bustling time, the first year of the Qingli period arrived!