In the felt tent, three important ministers of the Liao Kingdom sat across from each other on a bed, drinking wine and eating meat, discussing affairs with the Han Dynasty.
"I remember that in the early years of Yingli, I was ordered to go south to Kaifeng to discuss military peace negotiations with the Southern Dynasty. At that time, Shizong unfortunately died at the hands of the rebels. His Majesty was just established and rebelled against Fang Ping. Because of me,
The elite troops of the North Dynasty moved southward, determined to attack the Han Dynasty, and the Southern Dynasty also responded tit-for-tat. They deployed troops, repaired armor and gathered grain. In Hebei prefectures and counties, troops moved northward in an endless stream. Food and equipment were transferred and the roads were blocked.
However, no matter how the Southern Dynasties mobilized their troops to prepare for war, I have never been afraid. However, in the Han Dynasty in the Central Plains, the troops stationed in the north are being reduced day by day, and the cry of killing from the north has ceased, which makes me even more frightened!" Xiao Husi said
After taking a sip of wine, he began to talk about his feelings as an ambassador.
"It sounds like Privy Xiao was deeply moved by this trip to the Han Dynasty!" Yelu Wuzhi said as he toasted with wine.
"There are some things that are better to hear than to see. Only by going there in person can you know what the situation in Han is like today!" Xiao Hu thought in response.
After finishing the drink, he slowly narrated: "To me, today's Southern Dynasty is like a tiger and a hungry wolf that has temporarily tempered its sharpness. It is staring and dozing, but secretly it has not relaxed at all to sharpen its claws. Just wait for it to wipe out the south.
, will inevitably turn its evil claws and fangs towards Daliao.
Today, the Southern Dynasty has no less than 30,000 soldiers and horses stationed in Hebei. They all send good generals to guard and control them, eliminate the old and weak, and retain the best. They have been trained for many years and have not been neglected. There is also Commander-in-Chief Chenliu Wang An Shenqi.
Although An Shenqi is old, he is a veteran on the battlefield. He has been in the army all his life and has rarely suffered defeat. He is not easy to fight against.
If we add the Yan army, the Han army east of Hedong, and the Han army south of the Yan Dynasty, the Yan defense army has been no less than 60,000 in number. In these years, the Southern Dynasty has repeatedly mobilized troops to attack various parties, but it has never been able to defeat the northern army.
It has never been used, and is rotated from time to time to enrich the various passes with elite troops!
From this we can see how serious the Han monarchs and ministers are on guard and defense against our dynasty!"
Xiao Husi's narration made Yelu Wuzhi and Xiao Haili look solemn. They were not ignorant of these situations. Over the years, there had been constant exchanges between Han and Liao, and border trade had been frequent. In the process,
, the Han Dynasty never relaxed its attention to the Liao Kingdom, and the Liao Kingdom never relaxed its spying on the Han's military affairs. Some affairs cannot be completely hidden, especially the construction of the Han army and border guards. Many situations are exposed in the open.
to frighten the Liao Kingdom.
Yelvuzhi said: "In the past few years, the military strength of the Southern Dynasties has become very strong!"
Xiao Husi nodded and said in a fearful tone: "The elite army of the Southern Dynasties today should be around 200,000, and these Han troops have grown up after ten years of unification wars. They have good combat experience.
Even if its combat power is compared with that of our Great Liao Tiger Division, I'm afraid it won't be far behind. In the past ten years, a large number of generals, heroes and heroes have emerged in the Han army, and they have been put to good use.
.
Moreover, the Han Dynasty reformed the military system, selected and trained elite soldiers, confiscated military power, and put the army under its control. Compared with this, it is even more terrifying. For decades, the Southern Dynasty has been experiencing endless civil strife. When it comes to the ability to control the army, it has not been
There are those who have surpassed today's Han rulers.
There is an entire country and hundreds of thousands of troops for the Han Lord to coordinate and mobilize. The war power it can unleash is far more worthy of vigilance than the 200,000 elite soldiers.
Taking Huainan, Jinghu, and Pingchuan Shu, in addition to seizing cities, land, and wealth, they also obtained at least eight million Dingkou. I am not being alarmist. With so many people, as long as they are used properly, coupled with the inherent heritage of the Central Plains and Hebei
, it is not impossible to arm an army of millions..."
Hearing what he said, Xiao Haili couldn't help but sigh: "For thousands of years, what people feared in the Southern Dynasty, apart from the huge and wealthy land, is the population, money and food that are difficult to consume!"
Xiao Haili's tone revealed a sense of despair. Even now, when it comes to population and economy, the Han Dynasty can already beat the Liao Kingdom. But the competition in national strength does not end there.
At the beginning of the founding of the Khitan state, the population was about 2 million. At that time, it was the result of the unification of the Khitan tribes and the conquest of the tribes in Saibei. For a nomadic regime, it was not small. Later, it also included the Bohai Sea and the lands of Yanbei.
, developed for more than 40 years, and until the time of Yelujing's rule, there were only about 3.5 million people, which was one-fifth of the Han Dynasty.
Of course, for an empire that combines agriculture and hunting, and is semi-nomadic and semi-feudal, with such a population strength, it is enough to wrestle with the Han Dynasty, and it can also recruit and arm a large army that can meet the requirements of confrontation with the Han Dynasty.
Therefore, for the Han Dynasty of the Southern Dynasties, Yelvwu held hostages against them, so he was wary of them and treated them with caution, but he was not afraid of them.
"The Southern Dynasties cannot afford to organize a million-strong army. Even if they could, they would be wise and would not do it. After all, war cannot be fought with just a large number of people!" Yelu Wuzhi calmly commented: "We also have people in Daliao.
Millions of people and an army of 300,000 are enough to defeat them!"
Xiao Husi nodded and continued: "This time I went south from Hebei, hundreds of counties and millions of people there have obviously resumed development, and people's hearts have stabilized. Wherever I have gone, there are many people in the villages.
During the off-farm days, people gathered to practice and practice martial arts. Local and state officials also continued to repair ditches and dredge rivers. Thousands of official, commercial and civilian ships traveled between the north and the south, covering the sky and the sun. Through the canal, the Southern Dynasties could control the Henan area.
The army, money, food, and ordnance were transferred northward smoothly, reaching Beiguan and even Youzhou..."
"Kaifeng in the Southern Dynasties has also undergone earth-shaking changes compared to seven years ago. The city has expanded several times, the population has reached nearly one million, thousands of merchants have gathered, hundreds of industries are prosperous, and cars, ships, cattle and horses are constantly flowing inside and outside. Its national power is rich and strong.
Visible to the naked eye.
He overhauled the city, built official offices, warehouses, and camps, making Kaifeng the most majestic city in the world. However, the palaces in the imperial city have not been significantly modified. When I entered the Han Palace, I could still see the familiar scene and many traces of renovation and maintenance.
obvious."
"It can be seen that the Lord of Han is by no means an ordinary emperor, he can be called a heroic and wise king, and his goals must be in the great cause. Such a person is too dangerous for the Liao Dynasty.
Emperor Taizong was able to destroy the Jin Dynasty, but it was because the Jin Emperor Shi Chonggui was stupid, greedy for enjoyment, and could not govern the country with martial arts. Compared with the original Jin Emperor, the current Emperor of Han is like an eagle with wings spread compared to a short-legged grass rabbit.
The difference."
"As for the civil and military affairs of the Southern Dynasty, there were many good ministers. The rulers and ministers were in harmony with each other. They worked together as one to maintain public security. The laws were strict and upheld internally and externally. The clarity of their politics and the stability of their government also opened up a new generation, which is far from comparable to the chaos of the previous generation."
"On the National Day, the grand ceremony was beyond imagination. Dangxiang, Tubo, Uighur, Dali, Goryeo and other forces all brought gifts to celebrate. I saw the Han Emperor sitting high in the Chongyuan Hall and accepting worship from thousands of people. It was like facing a
The great sun hovers between the sky and the earth, its rays of light are so dazzling that one dares not look directly at it.”
"When I visited Kaifeng, I saw that the people there were prosperous and prosperous. What I was even more surprised about was that the people there were fighting against the small people, and the traders and soldiers were all talking about conquering the south of the Yangtze River and unifying the south. The people's hearts are attached to it, and the aspirations of the people are already unanimous.
.
It is conceivable that the Southern Dynasty's national strategy was still wiping out the remaining two or three small countries in the south of the Yangtze River, and had already reached the final stage. Once it is allowed to complete its final unification, Daliao will face an almost complete state that has solved all its worries.
Central Plains Empire.
By then, Daliao will be the most direct enemy of Han in the Southern Dynasties, and they will also devote their main energy to Daliao. If faced with such a situation, even with Daliao's current strength, it will not be easy to deal with it...
..”
Xiao Husi salivated and recounted everything he had seen, heard and understood from his envoy to the Han Dynasty. He did not stop until his mouth was dry and his tongue was dry. And listening to what he said, the two important ministers of the Liao Kingdom present were even more excited.
It's heavy, it's a sense of concern for the country and the people.
"In just seven or eight years, the Southern Dynasty has become so powerful?" Yelu Wuzhi sighed.
What Xiao Husi said focused on the strength of the Han Dynasty, especially the improvement of its military strength. Although the verbal description had a sense of exaggeration of praise. How many years had it taken for the Southern Dynasty to become so powerful?
Of course, because Xiao Husi has always been cautious in his words and deeds, he was able to speak like this without concealing his feelings of fear, which also shows how terrifying the Southern Dynasty is today.
Although they don't know how much the actual situation in the Southern Dynasties differs from the strong men mentioned by Xiao Husi, there is one thing that Yelu Wuzhi and Xiao Haili both admit and even believe. The enemy in the south has become strong and is likely to be not far away.
In the future, he will show his fangs to Daliao.
Under such circumstances, how should Daliao respond? They need to think carefully and repeatedly before giving correct opinions to the emperor.
But no matter what, the meat and wine at the banquet seems not so fragrant...
