The Struggle of the Reborn Prince

Zhao Ji received a letter from Zhao Ji the day before yesterday and analyzed the current situation. In the letter, he did not mention the civil uprising in the southeast. First, he was worried that Zhao Ji would fall into his old habits again, so he impulsively transferred all the Western troops back and hastily fought with Xixia.

Negotiating peace resulted in all previous efforts being wasted; secondly, the officials of the Song Dynasty were corrupt and people's livelihood was suffering. They also needed to be given a warning and it was also a cleansing of the officialdom in the southeast.

In the letter, Zhao Tong believes that after capturing Lingzhou, Xixia will now be severely damaged. In the short term, it will no longer have the strength to fight again, and the people in the court are panicked and eager to seek peace. It is the best time for peace talks; secondly, it is the best time for peace talks;

This time the Western Expedition restored a large area of ​​old territory, and the people's hearts are not yet stable, so it should be consolidated and the political power stabilized; moreover, the Hedong Army's thousands-mile expedition, the troops and horses have not rested, and they are already exhausted, and the people's thoughts are returning, which is not conducive to fighting again.

This letter came at the right time. Zhao Ji was now excited by the victory in the northwest. He was determined to conquer the Liao Dynasty and regain the sixteen states of Yanyun. However, he also knew that it would be difficult to achieve success with the help of the imperial troops in Hebei and Beijing who did not know the war, so he prepared to conquer the Liao Dynasty.

The Western Army was transferred to the north. Coupled with Liang Shicheng, Wang Fu and others were tired of talking about negotiating peace with Xixia every day, so they invited a few people to come to discuss the matter. Sure enough, after asking, several people agreed to negotiate peace with one voice.

.

"My dear friends, I feel that the time is ripe, and I also think so. The Hedong Army went on a thousand-mile expedition and went deep alone. If we are not prepared to make the same mistake again, we can negotiate peace with Xixia!" Zhao Ji nodded in agreement, "I wonder if my dear friends have any ideas.

?”

"Your Majesty, during the last peace negotiation, the chief envoy for the peace talks has been dispatched. Academician Cai is still in Taiyuan. The collegial meeting has already been agreed upon. Just implement it!" Li Bangyan said.

"No. The previous agreement was to use Mingtang River as the boundary. The annual gift is as usual, but now how can our army and even Lingzhou be compared?" Bai Shizhong immediately objected, secretly scolding you for eating too much and being a traitor to the country.

You can't sell it like this, now

From Henan to Hedong, and all the way to the capital, the messengers of victory shouted to everyone in the world. The Hedong Army had recaptured Lingzhou, with Mingtang River as the boundary. If you go out, you are not allowed to be drowned by the spit of the people. Don't say that the emperor will not agree, I

Can’t agree either!

"What Bachelor Bai said is absolutely true. Now the situation has changed and we can no longer follow the past. Xiazhou should be used as the boundary, and the annual rewards should be halved!" Wang Fu glanced at the emperor, his face already showing displeasure, and he hurriedly

The border moved a little further west.

"I agree with Wang Shaozai's view that Xiazhou should be used as the boundary. But this time our army has won a great victory, we should allow him to pay tribute and cancel his annual gift!" Bai Shizhong was also smart enough to follow up immediately.

"I was confused for a moment. Yanzhou is rich in green and white salt. Xixia has benefited a lot from it. We should demarcate Yanzhou and seize its salt fields for our court to use!" Li Bangyan said, secretly cursing in his heart that you two are eating better than each other.

I have more, but now you have sold me out, so don't blame me for falling out, let's see how you explain it to Xixia...

"Don't argue anymore. I have already taken care of it. Prince Yan discussed the truce with Xixia Chage a few days ago and drafted the terms of the peace talks. Let's discuss it!" Zhao Ji watched several people quarreling back and forth, but he only said that he was a vassal.

Zhuan Jie and Sui Ci, the third oldest ones, went around and around. Feeling angry, they took out the memorandum sent by Zhao Tong and said.

After Wang Fu and others heard this, they were suddenly puzzled. Letters from border ministers were reviewed by three provinces before being submitted to the emperor. But look at these people. I don’t think you have seen them before. They feel a chill in their hearts. It seems that the emperor

He is still wary of them and trusts his son even more. Liang Shicheng's face is not good-looking either. He is the person next to the emperor and is in charge of the entire palace, but he does not know about it. It can be seen that the emperor has other reasons for communicating with foreign ministers.

Channels, you should be careful when doing things by yourself.

"Profess tribunal, pay tribute, pay indemnity, open commercial ports, tax exemption, and use the Great Wall to the west as the boundary..." The more they looked back, the uglier their faces became. They all praised Prince Yan in their hearts for being such a talented person. Each of these clauses was enough.

, together they can drive Xixia to death. It turns out that the emperor has already thought of this proposal in his heart. Of course, what he says will not satisfy His Majesty, but he has received so many benefits from Xixia, and he can't explain it without saying something!

"Your Majesty, Xingzhou is the capital of Xixia. It is easy to defend and difficult to attack. How can it be willing to give it up easily? I'm afraid it will be difficult to achieve. The war will be protracted. Wouldn't it miss your Majesty's important event!" Wang Fu said first.

"Your Majesty, if our army attacks Xingzhou, we will send a large army. However, I know that Lingzhou goes deep into the Xia border, the economy is in decline, the roads are difficult to navigate, the food and wages will be insufficient, and the defense will be very difficult and costly!" Bai Shizhong continued, with the same meaning.

Not only is it impossible to build Xingzhou, it is also impossible to use Lingzhou as the boundary.

"Humph, you only know one but not the other. Lingzhou is adjacent to the Yellow River and has fertile land. Xixia has been operating for hundreds of years and has cultivated hundreds of thousands of hectares of fertile land. It has long since become a land of fish and rice, with output accounting for half of the country. Furthermore, Lingzhou

During the time of Taizu, it was the barrier to the northwest of our Song Dynasty.

Since the land for supplying troops and horses was acquired by Dang Xiang, our Song Dynasty has lost its barriers and its troops and horses are no longer available." Zhao Ji reprimanded, "Xixia gained Lingzhou, crossed the Yellow River to the north, connected the towns outside the river, and became one with Xingzhou.

Occupy the favorable terrain with negative mountains blocking the river; walk through salt in the east

You are connected with Pingxia, going west to Baitinghai can lead to Hexi, and going south to the mountains and rivers is connected to Shanshan, making our Chaohuan, Qing, Yuan, Wei and other prefectures become important border areas. Therefore, if Xia reaches Lingzhou, the territory will be unified

If it is solid, if the state fails, its territory will collapse and it will not be able to establish a country. The Song and Xia centuries of friendship

The main force of the army is in Lingzhou. How can we easily give it up to others after we regain it this time? This time, we decided to use Xingzhou as the boundary. It would be difficult to mobilize troops and transport food across the Yellow River. I think it is better to use Lingzhou as the boundary to protect against natural dangers.

To resist the enemy, you can also cultivate the fertile fields of Lingzhou to strengthen the border defense. This is actually the best strategy!"

"The emperor is wise, but the ministers are dull!" When several people saw the emperor saying such truth, they all knew that things were difficult, so they should just listen to the emperor!

"Okay, the three provinces issued an edict according to the agreed terms, and ordered Cai You, the prime minister of Zuo, to go to Lingzhou to negotiate peace. Prince Yan conquered Xixia and made many outstanding achievements. Jin Taiwei took the post of deputy envoy of the Privy Council and ordered him to establish an alliance with Shaanxi.

Make Tong Guantong the deputy envoy to discuss with Xixia!" Zhao Ji looked at the fearful expressions of several people and felt very happy. Now you know

I'm so awesome, let's see if you dare to do things with all your heart in the future. Thinking of this, Zhao Ji feels even more that he is a wise king. Under his personal 'guidance', his son achieved such a great victory. Although Xixia was not destroyed, his vitality was greatly damaged.

, after retaking Yanyun, it will not be too late to find trouble for them, now let them linger for a few days!

"Your Majesty, the envoy of the Liao Kingdom is still in the capital. His attitude is tough and he wants our country to withdraw from the land that Henan has regained. Will this cause war between the two countries?" Liang Shicheng said quietly at this time.

"Humph, he is already a lost dog, and he still wants to take care of our affairs. You tell me what I want, and if you interfere, I will join forces with Jin to attack Liao!" Zhao Ji said with disgust. Now it is one moment and another moment, and he is looking for trouble to clean up.

As for him, I forgive him for not getting into trouble at this moment.

"According to the order!" Liang Shicheng also knew what was going on and knew that the emperor was in a mood. He could not say anything more at this time and could only come down and think of a solution.

"Tell Cai You that if he can't reach this agreement, let him stay in the northwest to herd horses!" After Zhao Ji said that, he got up and left Chui Gong Hall and went to Xuanhe Building, where there were many antiques, calligraphy and paintings sent by his son from Xixia.

The appraisal hasn't been completed yet, he has to go take a look.

The remaining people in the palace sighed and left. Now they can only tell the hapless Xixia emperor that the emperor agreed to the peace negotiation. As for the content, he can't say anything about the beating to death, otherwise he might cause some trouble during the Chinese New Year...

...

After the peace edict was discussed, everyone in the court breathed a sigh of relief, including the prince Zhao Huan, who stood at the top of the class. Zhao Huan had suffered in the northwest in the past two years, and even though he was in the capital, his life was very difficult. Zhao Huan found himself in

constantly being

Marginalization, according to the system of the Song Dynasty, under normal circumstances, "clan members who do not hold official positions" can only enjoy benefits, but Zhao Ji repeatedly broke the rules and appointed his two brothers to hold actual positions, and they continued to rise and expand their power.

Zhao Kai promoted the Imperial City Division, which was a very important practical assignment. Its main responsibility was to defend the imperial city and detect the movements of the subjects. To put it bluntly, it was a secret service. After he came to power, the power of the Imperial City Division increased significantly, and it has not been there since.

He is under the supervision of the Tai Cha, and is not subject to the control of the Palace Secretary. He is personally subordinate to the official establishment.

From the fourth commander to the fifth commander, the number of personnel increased from 2,770 to 2,970. The power continued to grow, and the strength gradually increased. Even he, the prince, was under the 'protection' of the Imperial City Division.

, that is to say, his every move cannot escape Zhao Kai's eyes.

Zhao Kai also used his power to collude with courtiers and challenge his position as prince several times. Those who were good at seeing the wind would inevitably think that Zhao Ji wanted to depose Zhao Huan and make Zhao Kai the prince. Some good people even tried to persuade Lin Lingsu

In the so-called Shenxiao Mansion, Zhao Kai was enshrined as '

Although Lin Lingsu, the Immortal Emperor, was once deeply respected, he was just a skilled man after all. He actually dared to say that the flood in the capital this summer was because the water came from the prince. Fortunately, he had done many evil things and aroused public resentment. Finally, he finally

He was abandoned and no big trouble was caused.

Zhao Huan glanced at Wang Fu who was standing next to him, his eyes full of resentment. Last year, Zhao Chen, the eldest grandson of the emperor, was born. This was a happy event that had never happened since the Song Dynasty. It broke the century-old doubt about the successor of the Song Dynasty royal family.

Of course, Zhao Ji was also happy to make Zhao Chen the Duke of Chongguo and the Military Governor of Chongde Army. However, Wang Fu, as soon as he took charge of Zhongshu, relied on "the family has no family".

"There are two masters, but there are no two mistresses." According to the ancient etiquette of "there is a suitable son but not a suitable grandson", he advised the emperor: "If you give the son of the East Palace the title of a prince, you will take the East Palace as your master." Zhao Ji hesitated for a moment.

Wang Fu actually called the Chief of the East Palace, Geng Nanzhong, to his residence and ordered him to perform the memorial on behalf of the East Palace, demanding that Zhao Chen be dismissed from his official post. So in June of this year, Zhao Chen was demoted to Gaozhou Defense Envoy.

But now the second brother, Zhao Tong, is even better. Not only is he in charge of the government, he has done a great job, but he has also led the army to defeat Xixia, regained a large area of ​​land, and forced the other party to beg for peace.

After killing his third brother Zhao Kai, now that the war has stopped, he will definitely return to Beijing. When the two tigers fight, both will lose, and the only one who will benefit is himself!

Thinking of this, Zhao Huan couldn't help but hope that Zhao Tan could return to Beijing as soon as possible...

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