"Yelu Renxian led his troops to raid the Hot Spring Palace and met with Xiao Xiaoxian's army escorting Xiao Nojin. In the battle between the two sides, Yelu Renxian defeated Xiao Xiaoxian and almost captured Xiao Nojin alive, but rescued Yelu Zongzhen. Now he escorted Yelu Zongzhen to escape back to Shangjing, while Xiao Nojin and Xiao Xiaoxian returned to Zhongjing. Both sides gathered their own troops, and the battle was about to begin..."

Li Zhang read the latest information sent back by the Liao Kingdom, and his face was full of ecstasy, especially a strong sense of accomplishment surged in his heart, because the current situation in the Liao Kingdom was caused by him. If he had not notified Zhao Anren in advance and reminded Xiao Nojin through Zhao Anren, maybe Yelu Zongzhen had already successfully couped and monopolized the power. Although the Liao Kingdom would be a little turbulent, it would have calmed down in a very short time.

Not only were Li Zhang, Zhao Zhen, Lu Yijian, Wang Zeng and others in the hall, they were also full of joy at this time. After all, the civil strife in the Liao Kingdom was the best news for them, and they even wanted the Liao Kingdom to fight to the earth so that they could reap profits.

However, after being excited, Zhao Zhen finally calmed down and asked: "My dear friends, Liao is in chaos, this is great news. What do you think about this matter?"

As soon as Zhao Zhen finished speaking, Wang Zeng was the first to stand up and said: "God bless me, the Great Song Dynasty, Empress Dowager Xiao competed with the Liao Emperor. Judging from the current situation, this battle for power is inevitable, and the national strength of the Liao Kingdom has already declined. In this way, when this war is over, no matter who loses and who wins, it will be a blessing for my Song Dynasty!"

"What Wang Xiang said is very true, but Liao is in chaos. I think we can do something?" Zhao Zhen nodded when he heard Wang Zeng's words, and then smiled and said to the minister below.

"Report to Your Majesty, I think I can take this opportunity to take advantage of the opportunity to form troops on the border and then send envoys to the Liao Kingdom to demand the abolition of the annual monies!" At this time, a middle-aged man in his forties stood up and spoke with a serious expression.

When he heard the middle-aged man's words, Zhao Zhen in the hall was stunned, and then he showed an incredible expression. Li Zhang looked at the other party in surprise. The middle-aged man was named Shi Zhongli, the son of the famous prime minister Shi Xizai. However, although he came from a family of officials and had a good knowledge, his personality was joking and humorous. He usually laughed and didn't have a good reputation. Even though he had now become the position of governor, he still did not change his nature.

For example, Shi Zhongli was riding a horse some time ago, but she accidentally fell down. Many officials were present at that time, and they were all shocked. However, Shi Zhongli stood up like a quarrel, then patted the earth on his body and smiled and said, "Fortunately, Shi participated in politics. If it were Shi Zhongli, if it were Wa and Ci participated in politics, he would definitely break himself!"

The above is just a small example, and there are many similar ones, especially his courage. When Prime Minister Zhang Shixun retired and returned to his hometown, he praised himself as prime minister for many years at the banquet. Now that the world is peaceful, he is very satisfied. However, Shi Zhongli directly retorted: "It's a pity that the Northern Liao Dynasty has not been destroyed, and the war is hard to calm down!"

It can also be seen from the above that Shi Zhongli is a bit like Dongfang Shuo in the Han Dynasty, but his official position is much larger than Dongfang Shuo. He is now the deputy prime minister, but he still has no right words. Many censors have participated in this regard. Many of his friends also advised him to pay attention to his identity, but he still does his own way and does not seem to take his official position seriously at all.

It is precisely because of his good knowledge of Shi Zhongli's character that the ministers in the court were surprised at this time. After all, no one expected that Shi Zhongli, who was usually not in a good shape, would be so radical and take advantage of the opportunity of Liao's civil turmoil to destroy the annual monies.

You should know that the annual monies are one of the conditions for the alliance reached by the former emperor Zhao Heng and the Liao Kingdom. Although many people felt very humiliated, the Northern Song Dynasty did not abolish the annual monies until the Liao Kingdom was destroyed. Not only did anyone want to abolish the annual monies, but on the one hand, the Liao Kingdom is powerful, and on the other hand, this is the condition established by Zhao Heng's alliance with the Liao Kingdom. If the annual monies are abolished, it is equivalent to denying Zhao Heng's alliance. Therefore, under this dual pressure from inside and outside, few people dare to mention the annual monies.

But Shi Zhongli mentioned it at this time, and his usual laughter was gone, but his face was serious, which surprised everyone, which was both surprised and surprised. Li Zhang was the same. He was not familiar with Shi Zhongli, and he had basically never met before. It was only after the other party was promoted to the position of the Chief Secretary for Political Affairs, but he only met a few times occasionally. He had only heard some interesting stories about the Shi’s political affairs.

"This matter..." Zhao Zhen showed a hesitant expression at this time. It was not that he was unwilling to abolish the annual monies, but that the annual monies were set by his own father. As a son, he had to bear some moral pressure if he abolished the rules set by his father. So he also looked at Li Zhang next to him with his eyes.

Li Zhang did not disappoint Zhao Zhen, but saw him stand up and speak, "Your Majesty, I think you can't hurry up with the annual monies!"

As soon as Li Zhang said something, Zhao Zhen immediately breathed a sigh of relief, and many ministers next to him also nodded. After all, they all felt that abolishing the annual monies was too radical. Even if there was chaos in Liao, the annual monies could not be abolished so easily. This involved the Chanyuan Alliance back then.

When Shi Zhongli saw Li Zhang's opposition, he also showed an anxious look on his face. He looked at him with a little disappointment. He knew Li Zhang's influence on Zhao Zhen. Since he had objected, his suggestions were basically impossible to be adopted. However, this also made him very disappointed with Li Zhang. He thought that Li Zhang would agree with his suggestions when promoting the war against Dangxiang, but he did not expect that he would not dare to touch the Liao Kingdom.

However, Li Zhang did not finish his words. He smiled calmly and continued: "I think that the Liao Dynasty is in chaos and the war between the two sides is about to begin. In this way, both sides will definitely mobilize troops from all over the country to enhance their strength. In this way, the troops on the border will be empty. This is a thousand-year opportunity for our Song Dynasty to send troops to recover Yan Yun. Please make a decision early!"

As soon as Li Zhang said that, everyone except Zhao Zhen and Lu Yijian in the hall showed a stunned expression, even Shi Zhongli was no exception. After all, he just wanted to take this opportunity to destroy the annual monies. As a result, Li Zhang was fine and wanted to directly send troops to attack the Liao Kingdom. This was something that many people dare not even think about.

What everyone unexpectedly did not expect was that Lu Yijian, who was the leader of all officials, suddenly stood up and spoke: "I advise you that if Your Majesty wants to recover Yan Yun, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"

If Li Zhang alone proposed to attack Yan Yun, others might think that Li Zhang was young, ignorant of the world, and even had some crazy ideas. However, as the prime minister Lu Yijian made the statement, others also woke up. Some people even noticed that Zhao Zhen's expression had not changed. It seemed that he was not surprised by Li Zhang's words. In this way, they secretly guessed that this matter was discussed by His Majesty and Li Zhang long ago, and even Lu Yijian might even participate in it?

There are not many ministers who can come to the Chuigong Hall today, all of whom are qualified to enter the Political Affairs Hall to discuss matters. Naturally, none of these people are fools, especially Li Zhang and Lu Yijian's statements, which made them more shocked to contemplative. When they thought seriously, they found that although Li Zhang's proposal was bold and risky, it made sense. If it succeeded, it would be a great achievement that has been celebrated forever, and the historian would definitely write this matter very much.

"I also agree with the suggestion of Dingbei Hou. If Yan Yun is recovered, then there will be a solid line of defense in the north of our Song Dynasty. We no longer have to arrange heavy troops. We are always worried that the Liao army will go south!" At this time, Shi Zhongli also expressed his joyfully, if Yan Yun can be captured, the offensive and defensive momentum between the Song Dynasty and the Liao Kingdom will be reversed immediately. How can the Song Dynasty need any annual monies?

Seeing Shi Zhongli, he also expressed his agreement, but Wang Zeng and others showed cautious expressions at this time. Although the temptation to regain Yan Yun was very high, the risks were also great. If the army was not good, it would not only cause the Song Dynasty to lose its troops, but also break the balance between the Liao and Song countries. If the internal chaos in Liao ended, the Song Dynasty would probably face the crazy revenge of the Liao Kingdom.

"I also think this proposal is feasible. Zhao Zhen led his troops to defeat Dangxiang before, but Li Yuanhao led his remaining soldiers and defeated generals to gallop across the territory of Liao. Not only could the Liao Kingdom not take them, but Li Yuanhao became stronger and stronger. This shows how deep the Liao army system collapsed. If our Song Dynasty directly sent troops, it would be just around the corner!" Zhao Zhen saw that Wang Zeng and others did not speak, and he couldn't wait to express his opinion directly.

Now everyone can be sure that Zhao Zhen and Li Zhang must have colluded. Although Lu Yijian and the others were not sure, they should have known for a long time that although Shi Zhongli was not in a regular position, he was the deputy prime minister after all, and was on par with Wang Zeng, so his attitude also added an important weight to Li Zhang.

"Your Majesty, it is important to recover Yan Yun, but Sun Tzu said: War is a major event of the country, a place of life and death, and a way of survival. Therefore, I think you should think twice before you act!" Wang Zeng finally stood up and said, "He was not timid, but Wang Zeng, as a veteran of the three dynasties, was also known for his stability in the administration, so he was not willing to use the current stability of the Song Dynasty to bet on the war in Yan Yun.
Chapter completed!