(My heartfelt thanks to Le Chacha and I Forgot Book Friends for giving me monthly passes!)
The envoys of the Liao Kingdom arrived at Bianliang City yesterday evening. The chief envoy this time was Xiao Temo, the envoy of the North Academy of the Liao Kingdom. Liu Liufu, a scholar of the Hanlin Academy of the Liao Kingdom, was the deputy envoy. He led a mighty force of more than a hundred people.
It took more than twenty days for the envoy team to arrive in the capital.
Early this morning, under the leadership of the director of the privy room of the Privy Council, they brought gifts to meet Renzong. No one in the Song Dynasty knew what the purpose of the Liao envoys came to do this with great fanfare, but the agenda of the previous dynasty mentioned Liao envoys.
China has assembled a large number of troops and horses on the border between the two countries. Combined with this mission, it is not difficult to judge that there is an inevitable connection between the two.
In the morning, the Liao envoys Xiao Temo and Liu Liufu also failed to fulfill the courtesy of their younger brothers. The Chanyuan Alliance between the two countries had agreed that the two countries were brothers' countries, and they were called brothers according to the age of the country's leader. Zhao
Zhen was older than Yelu Zongzhen, Xingzong of Liao Dynasty, so he was his elder brother in Song Dynasty and younger brother in Liao Dynasty.
Xiao Temo was unambiguous in his etiquette. He was meticulous in his greetings and kneels. He also greeted the ministers with smiles and courtesy. He also presented a list of gifts that he had brought with him. The above items were all specialties of the northern country, such as nai meat, good horses, etc.
Furs, old ginseng and other valuable things; of course, in the eyes of the Liao Kingdom, they were very valuable, but in the eyes of the Song people, such gifts were simply despicable and ridiculous.
However, no matter how many and valuable the gifts were, they could not hide the true purpose of the Liao envoy's visit. After meeting in accordance with the etiquette, Xiao Te submitted an autographed letter from Xingzong of Liao to Zhao Zhen before leaving the court, and then under the guidance of the reception officials
Went back to the inn to rest.
Zhao Zhen opened the letter written by Xingzong of Liao in front of all the ministers without reading it. When he took a look, his face suddenly filled with anger, he threw the letter at the foot of the stairs and cursed: "The land of tigers and wolves has not been harmed as expected.
Enlightenment is too much, and bullying is too much!"
The ministers were still intoxicated in the atmosphere of friendly relations between the two countries, but unexpectedly, the situation suddenly changed, and the emperor instantly turned pale with anger and cursed in public. This was a unique thing.
Lu Yijian tremblingly picked up the letter from Xingzong of Liao Dynasty, unfolded it and read: "Your Majesty, brother of the Emperor of the Song Dynasty, my brother Yelvzong sincerely wishes you a happy life. It has been thirty-eight years since the alliance between the two countries in Chanzhou; thirty-eight years
Over the years, the Liao and Song Dynasties have been in peace with each other, and the people of the two countries are as harmonious as brothers. I am deeply gratified, and I am sure that I am also lucky for you. Among all the countries in the world, they have good neighborliness and good relations with each other even though they are fighting at a distance. This is the only example in the world.
This is the good fortune of the Liao and Song countries."
Everyone looked at each other in confusion. What they said was very appropriate, and their attitude was sincere and respectful enough, but they didn't know what was said below that made the emperor so angry.
"However, since the founding of your country, there has been a lot of bad blood between the two countries. A piece of alliance is not enough to settle everything. Our monarchs and ministers of the Liao Kingdom have always had grievances, which have arisen due to several things, all of which are related to your country. My brother is kind-hearted.
I am not a rude person. You and I should both think about the long-term friendship between the two countries. Therefore, it is better to decide the unresolved matters between the two countries as soon as possible. This is a plan for the good relationship between the future generations and must be done.
.”
Everyone was refreshed and thought: "It's time to get to the point. Lord Xingzong of the Liao Dynasty finally proposed several things that would affect the good relations between the two countries. We hope to solve these problems, but we don't know which ones they are."
Lu Yijian swallowed and continued reading: "First, your country was founded in Zhou Dynasty. Long before the founding of your country, the Lord of Zhou Dynasty, Shizong, had provoked our Daliao Dynasty several times, taking advantage of the civil strife in our Daliao Dynasty to seize the country.
The land of ten counties south of Daowaqiao Pass in Nanjing, Liao Dynasty was taken as his own. Later, Emperor Taizong founded the Song Dynasty and took over the land of ten counties south of Waqiao Pass as Song Dynasty. Now that the two countries have good relations, I would like to ask your country to return Waqiao Pass to Song Dynasty.
I will not refuse the land of ten counties south of Qiaoguan."
All the ministers were filled with indignation and cursed one after another in court. This Liao Xingzong was really shameless. He actually opened his mouth and wanted to take over the land. Waqiao Pass was the border between Hebei East Road of the Song Dynasty and Nanjing Road of the Liao Kingdom.
It is an important pass. After passing Waqiao Pass, there is no important town that can be defended for a hundred miles to the south. The Liao people have nothing to do but want to seize the land of the ten counties south of Waqiao Pass. Their sinister intentions are self-evident.
"Don't get excited, just listen to Lu Xiang finish reading." Yan Shu shouted majestically with a stern face.
Everyone stopped the noise and listened quietly as Lu Yixian continued to read.
Lu Yijian's face turned pale with anger, but he gritted his teeth and continued reading: "The second thing is that when Emperor Taizong of your country was still alive, he attacked Daliao for no reason. Three armies penetrated thousands of miles into our territory of Liao, causing great harm to us.
There are countless people in the land of Yanji, and it is useless to rob livestock and property. Although this was done before the Chanzhou Alliance, the soldiers and people of Liao Dynasty were very worried about it and were deeply ashamed of it. Please give me an explanation on this matter. Emperor Taizong originally attacked our country.
What is the reason for Liao, and what is the name of the teacher?"
"Shameless, shameless." Deputy Privy Councilor Chen Zhizhong scolded endlessly: "When we founded the Song Dynasty, it was the Liao people who caused trouble on the border. I, Emperor Taizong, only gave me a slight punishment. Naturally, it was the Liao people who provoked
First, I punish you later, how can I learn from Wu Ming?"
"Deputy Ambassador Chen, don't be anxious. Listen to everything before speaking." Yan Shu was polite to Chen Zhizhong, with comfort in his tone.
"Thirdly, Yuanhao of the Western Xia Dynasty is related to Daliao as my nephew and uncle, and he has already declared himself a vassal to Daliao. Your country is raising an army to attack Xia. You should have informed Daliao in advance, but now you have kept silent and fought fiercely with Yuan Hao.
Where is the brotherhood between the two countries? Fourthly, your country has recently built more fortifications on the border and recruited more border troops. Troops and horses have been mobilized frequently. What is the purpose of this move? It is to ignore the good relations between the two countries and the brotherhood.
Do you want to ignore it and meet with our Liao soldiers? The two countries have an alliance with Chanzhou: the two dynasties along the border city, everything is as usual, and no city god is allowed to be built. This brother's move is a betrayal of the alliance, which is really unwise. Hope
Brother, please give me an explanation; if you don’t insist on violating the alliance, we, Daliao, can also ignore the Chanzhou alliance. I hope that brother will think twice before doing so."
"To sum up, the above four points are the result of my deep understanding of the gulf and obstacles to the good relations between the two countries, so I proposed them all together, and sent Xiao Temo, the envoy of the Southern Academy of Huizhou, and Liu Liufu, the Hanlin bachelor, as the principal and deputy envoys to contact your country on this matter. I hope that
My brother has appointed me full-time to discuss with you. In order to properly discuss these four items, we can deepen the love of brothers and protect our descendants! Another brother has something to tell me. Marshal Yelu Zongyuan of the Liao Army and Horses is leading me in the northern part of the Liao Dynasty.
Privy Councilor Xiao Hui led a million-strong army to hunt on the Nanjing Road. This was a normal military exercise. Brother, please do not suspect it. I admire your benevolence and look forward to drinking and chatting with you. Now I will toast to you in Beijing.
Brother, may the country be prosperous, prosperous and healthy!”
Lu Yijian's face was as dark as water, he took a long breath, and handed the letter in his hand to the chamberlain, who then respectfully placed it on the dragon case.
Zhao Zhen's chest heaved and his eyes were blazing. He pointed at the letter and said: "All the ministers have heard it. These are the four demands made by the Liao people. They are simply too deceptive. According to what he said, we, the ten counties south of Waqiao Pass,
Wouldn’t the land be surrendered? I, Emperor Taizong, have no name for military campaigns and punishments. The Western thieves rebelled against the Song Dynasty and established themselves, and the Liao people came to support them. The most annoying thing is that the Liao Kingdom sent hundreds of thousands of soldiers to the border, but we, the Song Dynasty, had no one.
It’s really a joke to build a barrier to strengthen defense. I might as well just surrender to the Liao Kingdom. Which one is intolerable?”
Zhao Zhen shouted loudly and slapped the dragon case loudly, showing a rare excitement and getting angry.
"Your Majesty, the Liao people have insulted me too much. I suggest that the Liao envoys be sent back immediately with their noses and eyes gouged out to show the power of the Song Dynasty." Du Yan stepped forward and said indignantly.
"What a bastard. The two countries are at war without killing the envoys. Privy Du said this, so he has the right to do it." Lu Yijian shouted calmly.
Du Yan hesitated and said: "Prime Minister Lu, the Liao people are riding on our necks to shit. The emperor is so angry, why can't he kill the envoys and establish his power?"
Lu Yi simply ignored him and stepped forward: "Your Majesty, don't be angry, don't fall for the Liao people's tricks."
Zhao Zhen sat down slowly, took a few deep breaths, and said in as calm a tone as possible: "What does Prime Minister Lu think the Liao people are doing?"
Lu Yijian said: "Your Majesty, these four items are all unreasonable and vexatious. They are blackmail attempts by the Liao Kingdom while I was at war with the Western thieves. Your Majesty does not need to pay attention to it at all, but sent envoys to discuss with him and refute them one by one. And
Why get so angry over such things."
Zhao Zhen said in astonishment: "Refute them one by one? If the Liao people raise troops because of this, what will they do?"
Lu Yijian said: "We have deployed strong troops and troops on both the east and west roads of Hebei Province. Just now, the letter from the Lord of Liao also mentioned the construction of fortifications on our border. I think the people of Liao already know that we, the Song Dynasty, have taken precautions. Under such circumstances,
, they dare not raise troops to attack me easily, but if they comfort me during the negotiation, or give me some more coins, they will definitely end the disputes."
Zhao Zhen frowned and said: "Wouldn't that make the Song Dynasty too weak and easy to bully? For the alliance of Chanzhou, the Song Dynasty has given us 100,000 silver coins and 200,000 pieces of silk every year. Now we will give more coins.
How to explain to the world?"
Lu Yijian cupped his hands and said: "This is the time and the other is the same. Now we in the Song Dynasty are fighting with the Western bandits outside and suffering from natural disasters inside. It is really a troubled time. The Liao people came to envoy at this time, originally looking for this opportunity to extort money. We must not use the plan to give the gift.
We can exchange coins for peace, and wait until the rebellion of the Western Bandits is quelled before we can free up our hands to negotiate with the Liao State on this matter. Otherwise, we may go to war with the Liao State and be attacked on both sides, which will be an unbearable situation."
Zhao Zhen thought about it for a long time, felt unwilling to do so, looked around the audience, and asked: "Do you have any other clever ideas to deal with this?"
Everyone was silent, no one dared to make a decision on such a major matter, not to mention that this matter was too difficult. Although Prime Minister Lu's gentle policy sounded useless, it was probably the best solution.
Yan Shu wanted to come out to oppose, but he had no way to deal with it. If the two countries went to war, what could they do to resist the Liao cavalry? Now they need money and food. Once the war breaks out, it will be long and protracted, and the war will be fought.
consumption and material reserves, there is no hope of victory, and standing up to raise objections will only make the matter fall into controversy and cannot be resolved.
Zhao Zhen asked several questions, but no one answered. He could only sigh and said: "It seems that there is no other way. So who do you think would be best to contact the Liao envoy?"