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

Nowadays, the Song Dynasty has just risen, and it is far from being restored to the time when all the nations of the Tang Dynasty came to the dynasty and became the common masters of East Asia.

From the beginning of the Song Dynasty to the present, the younger brothers from the surrounding Tang Dynasty have left the Song Dynasty one after another.

Japan was closed to the outside world, and officials did not have any contact with the Song Dynasty.

Goryeo was attacked by the Liao State and abandoned by the Song State. It was forced to surrender to the Liao State and became a vassal state of the Liao State.

Annan Jiaozhi ostensibly regarded the Song Dynasty as its suzerainty, but in fact it was a secret and a secret, provoking provocations on the Song-Vietnam border from time to time.

The thirty-six countries in the Western Regions have long since disappeared and gradually perished in the long river of history.

Countries or ethnic groups such as the Mohe, Shiwei, Uighurs, and Dangxiang either attached themselves to the Liao Kingdom, severed all ties with the Song Dynasty, or even established their own countries to become enemies of the Song Dynasty.

The only remaining ally that still stood firmly by the Song Dynasty was the Dali Kingdom, which inherited the territory of the Nanzhao Kingdom during the Tang Dynasty.

Therefore, Dali is the only great country in the Song Dynasty from the beginning of the Song Dynasty to the present.

As for Qingtang, after all, it was not a country. It was just a small border area with two or three cities. It could not be said to be a vassal state of the Song Dynasty.

Since the re-emergence of the Song Dynasty, all East Asian countries have made their own diplomatic changes, except for the Japanese officials who continued to pretend to be dead and closed themselves off from contact with the Song Dynasty.

First of all, Dali still did not change its pro-Song attitude, and even worshiped the Song Dynasty even more. It not only opened its doors to strengthen economic cooperation with the Song Dynasty and had close business contacts, but also sent envoys many times to express its admiration for the Song Dynasty.

Then Goryeo had already had enough of the bullying of the Liao Kingdom. After the Song Dynasty defeated the Liao Kingdom, it rushed to embrace it. Not only did it quickly change its title to accept the canonization of the Song Dynasty, it also allowed the Song Dynasty to station troops on the domestic islands, becoming The good second son of the Song Dynasty.

The third son is Annan. Annan was originally rebellious, but on the surface he was respectful, but in reality he was double-dealing and secretly attacked the border of the Song Dynasty from behind. But after a cordial and friendly "communication" with Song Yitong, Guaiguai became the third son.

Apart from this, there were no other vassal states of the Song Dynasty.

Because the thirty-six kingdoms of the Western Regions have been destroyed. Since the last ancient Western Kingdom, Khotan, was eliminated in 1004 AD, it was replaced by the Karakhanid Dynasty and the Xizhou Uighur Kingdom.

Although they also sent envoys to pay tribute after the Song Dynasty defeated Xixia and Liao, after all, they were too far away and blocked by Xixia. They were not neighboring countries. In addition to business contacts, they did not have many political and military contacts. Therefore, He cannot be considered a good son of the Song Dynasty.

The Tibetan tribes on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau are now in a state of division, without forming a country and without any political power. The nominal co-leader is Qingtang Zusiluo. In fact, they fight independently. Except for a few tribes that paid tribute to the Song Dynasty, there is no unity at all. Naturally, they cannot be said to be affiliated with the Song Dynasty.

So in summary, among the countries that border or are very close to the Song Dynasty, Xixia and Liao have a hostile relationship with the Song Dynasty. Dali, Goryeo, and Annan are pro-Song, and only Dali has always been pro-Song. Goryeo was only able to defeat the Liao after the Song Dynasty. Looking back, Annan changed the direction after being destroyed by the Song Dynasty.

This is the current diplomatic situation of the Song Dynasty.

At this moment, in the meeting room of the Constitutional Yuan, many prime ministers looked very solemn, and a map was placed on the meeting table.

It is not the world map that Zhao Jun brought, but the current situation of the countries surrounding the Song Dynasty drawn based on the world map, including the results of the Imperial City Division's many years of external investigations and conversations with the envoys who came.

Although this map cannot completely accurately draw the situation and border lines of the surrounding countries, it basically has a rough prototype, which allows people to see the surrounding situation more intuitively.

"Xixia and Liao launched attacks on our allies and affiliated regimes almost simultaneously. I wouldn't believe it if there was nothing wrong with it. What do you think?"

Zhao Jun asked looking at the situation on the map.

Fan Zhongyan touched his chin beard and frowned: "This situation reminds me of a sentence."

"What words?"

"Those who are good at fighting first try to be invincible, then wait for the enemy to become victorious."

"Oh? Please elaborate."

Zhao Jun said.

Fan Zhongyan pointed to the territory of Xixia and Liao and said: "We have deployed a large number of artillery on the border. If they take the initiative to attack, can they win?"

"Of course I can't."

Even before Zhao Jun said anything, others all denied it.

Because the national power of the Song Dynasty has risen sharply, it has basically entered the primary stage of the first industrial revolution. Even so, the gap between it and agricultural countries is still obvious.

Under such circumstances, a nation that uses its flesh and blood to fight on horseback and a nation that attacks its cities with cannons and muskets is tantamount to death.

So let alone Liaoxia taking the initiative to attack the Song Dynasty, even if they encountered them in the wild, if they ran slower, they would probably lose half their lives.

"That's the point."

Fan Zhongyan said with a smile: "So they no longer dare to attack the Song Dynasty's homeland, so they hope that we will show our flaws, such as taking the initiative to put them in a defensive position, thereby gaining the geographical advantage."

"So that's it. The two countries have deployed a large number of artillery on the border just like us. If we send troops to rescue Qingtang and Goryeo, we will fall into the trap of the Western and Liao thieves."

"In that case, doesn't it mean that we can't take the initiative to attack? The Qingtang side is fine, but if it comes to Goryeo, it will fall into the hands of the Liao Kingdom?"

"Back then, the Liao Kingdom also captured Goryeo's Kaijing, but what happened later? They had no support from the local people, and there were ambushes from Goryeo troops everywhere in the mountains. I think the Liao Kingdom also suffered the same fate this time."

"It's hard to say. In the past, the Liao Kingdom did not have firearms. Although Goryeo could not compete with them head-on, they could attack them from a distance. Now that the artillery is released, their courage will be shattered."

Many prime ministers were talking about it. Although they had seen through the plans of Liao and Xixia, they seemed to have nothing to do.

After all, the Liao Kingdom has now developed firearms. Taking the initiative to attack the Liao Kingdom's border will only be asking for trouble. What's more, by doing this, he also fell into Liao Xia's trap. I'm afraid there is a conspiracy behind it.

"Hanlong, what do you think?"

Fan Zhongyan looked at Zhao Jun.

Zhao Jun smiled and said: "I only have one opinion, and that is that Liao and Xixia really will not die unless they seek death."

"oh?"

Everyone looked at him.

Yan Shu asked in confusion: "Hanlong thinks it can be cracked?"

"Easy to crack."

Zhao Jun waved his hand, pointed at the Bohai Bay and said: "When I sail the fleet to the Bohai Bay, I wonder how the Liao Kingdom will respond?"

"Forehead"

When everyone saw it, they immediately felt that it made sense.

The Bohai Bay controls Shanhaiguan. To the west, we can attack the Xijin Prefecture in Nanjing, the Liao State. To the northeast, we can directly attack the Liaoyang Prefecture, Tokyo, Liao State. From a tactical point of view, it can be said that we have the upper hand.

"But even so, the Liao Kingdom is still powerful. If we take the initiative, the most we can do is help Goryeo repel the Liao Kingdom."

Jiang Tang shook his head.

"Why?"

Zhao Jun asked back.

"The Liao Kingdom has cannons along the coast."

Jiang Tang explained: "I'm afraid our ships can't get close."

He had served as a transshipment envoy on the Huainan East Road, and he was quite familiar with ship shipping. He knew that all ships now were equipped with artillery.

But the problem is that there are cannons on the coastline. In terms of range, the cannons on the coastline are much farther than those on ships.

"Lafayette had the same idea as you back then. The Dagukou Fort sank six warships, causing heavy casualties to the Eight-Nation Allied Forces. But what was the result?"

Zhao Jun spread his hands and said: "The coastline is very long. Can it really be defended by just a few artillery pieces? As long as they go ashore for field battles and have muskets arrayed, the Liao army will actually be a living target."

"oh?"

Everyone was shocked, and Li Di said in surprise: "Is Han Long planning to attack the Liao Kingdom?"

"I have read "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu, but I have also read "On War". The sentence "Offense is the best defense" in "On War" is deeply rooted in my heart."

Zhao Jun pointed to Yanyun's land and said: "We have all guessed what Liao's idea is. It is nothing more than to attack Goryeo, force us to rescue, let our troops go to the Korean Peninsula, and at the same time take the initiative to attack the heavily guarded Yanyun, so as to let We show our weaknesses and find ways for them to beat us."

"Um."

Everyone agrees on this.

Jiang Tang said: "According to Han Long's intention, we also want to take the initiative? Isn't it just playing into the hands of the Liao Kingdom?"

"It's just what you want. He fights his, and I fight mine. Each has its own strategy."

Zhao Jun smiled and said: "To be honest, just like Xixia, I didn't take a fancy to the entire territory of Xixia, I only took a fancy to Qingtang, Zhuoluo and Nan. The Liao Kingdom took a fancy to Yanyun first. Take it back. As for the destruction of Liao, let’s not talk about it now, let’s do it within three to five years.”

"Or within three to five years?"

Everyone was quite disappointed. Zhao Jun had actually said before that Xixia and Liao could be destroyed within three to five years at most, but as prime ministers, who wouldn't want to take some credit for their great achievements?

If this is accomplished during their tenure, it will probably be a highlight. Although Zhao Jun also said that it would be three to five years, within their term of office, how could they be prepared for such a thing as a war? If war breaks out in three to five years and continues for another one or two years, wouldn't that mean the term is over?

The most uncomfortable thing is that if the next prime minister happens to encounter something like this, the Song Dynasty will destroy the Xixia and Liao Kingdoms not long after taking office, and gain the credit of opening up the territory in vain, which will obviously make them suffer a loss of blood. If I go home, I'm afraid everyone will vomit blood.

Therefore, not only Zhao Zhen, but also many prime ministers in the Constitutional Yuan gradually recognized that the Song Dynasty had improved in strength and had the ability to destroy Xixia and Liao. However, Zhao Jun kept suppressing it, which made them feel puzzled.

Could it be that a raw material production area is not as profitable as directly annexing that raw material production area?

"Within three to five years."

Zhao Jun emphasized: "Within three to five years, I will make the domestic economies of Xixia and Liao collapse, and the people will be in dire straits. The Song Dynasty can easily occupy them. In this way, we can reduce a lot of casualties."

"ah?"

Everyone opened their eyes wide and stared at Zhao Jun blankly, as if he was talking about something out of the blue.

Only Zhao Jun smiled and said nothing.

Seeing that he didn't speak, everyone was a little unhappy. Yan Shu complained: "Hanlong, what on earth are you planning? If you have any explanation, please tell us immediately."

"All right."

Seeing that everyone was intrigued, Zhao Jun did not hide anything and said, "Do you know why I allowed the development of Liao's firearms in the first place?"

"Didn't they guess the gunpowder ratio and develop their own gunpowder that is close to 80 to 90% of our power?"

Song Shou asked puzzledly: "Are there other factors involved?"

"Of course, I didn't sell them the complete gunpowder formula that was 100% powerful. In fact, I just added fuel to the flames after they themselves spent a huge price."

Zhao Jun smiled.

"Then tell me the reason."

Everyone naturally knows this.

"I did this for two reasons. One is to allow Xixia and Liao to engage in an arms race with us and continue to consume their national power."

Zhao Jun said: "The second is to make Xixia and Liao become hugely dependent on our trade, which will eventually lead to our trade trap and the road to destruction."

"I can understand the first one, but what's the reason for the second one?"

Fan Zhongyan asked.

"Haven't you noticed that the survival of the people of Xixia and Liao is almost entirely dependent on me, the Song Dynasty?"

Zhao Jun smiled and said: "If the Song Dynasty suddenly cuts off all foreign trade and imposes a food blockade and economic sanctions on them under the pretext of Liao Xixia sending troops to its allies, guess what will happen to these two countries? "

Food blockades and economic sanctions?

Everyone looked at each other and could see the confusion in each other's eyes.

Only Zhao Jun still kept smiling.

In fact, over the years, the internal agents sent by the Imperial City Division to Xixia and Liao Kingdom have already collected the intelligence of the two countries.

The Xixia and Liao kingdoms have been developing vigorously in recent years. It seems that their national strength has improved, and they have even vigorously developed their armies. Almost 80-90% of the money in the treasury has been used for military expenditures, following the old path of the Song Dynasty.

But in fact, the economy and food depended heavily on the exports of the Song Dynasty.

After all, these two countries used to rely on animal husbandry and a certain amount of farming to sustain themselves. They did not have that much money to spend on the development of gunpowder. Just importing sulfur could empty the national treasury.

For this reason, the Song Dynasty "kindly" imported a large amount of Xixia and Liao specialties from them, and sent them a lot of coins, so that these two countries could maintain their domestic economic conditions, and have enough money to purchase sulfur and start to develop military industry.

But it is obvious that maintaining the development of firearms and military industry has almost emptied the entire treasury of Xixia and Liao. Non-governmental development basically relies on the civilians themselves. For this reason, citizens of the two countries often need to sell various products to make a living.

For example, the herdsmen of Xixia and Liao would often sell cattle, sheep and horses to the Song Dynasty. Various furs, minerals, and medicinal materials were also purchased by the Song Dynasty, so that the private economies of the two countries could be maintained.

Once the Song Dynasty imposed economic sanctions and embargoed various materials on Xixia and Liao, both countries would instantly fall into food shortages and economic collapse.

Don't think this is unrealistic.

Historically, a war broke out between Xixia and the Song Dynasty. The Song Dynasty canceled the mutual market, and the Xixia economy fell into despair overnight. The people in the country were in dire straits, and the herdsmen suffered heavy losses. If Li Yuanhao hadn't won the battle, he would have relied on the Song Dynasty to compensate him with annual coins to survive. , I'm afraid Xixia has perished long ago.

Therefore, it can be said that Zhao Jun has already started the layout a long time ago.

The reason is, of course, today.