Among the ministers there were many people who were familiar with Xia and Liao, such as the former officials of Honglu Temple. Later, after Honglu Temple was abolished, officials such as the director of the North Chamber of the Privy Council who were responsible for communication with the two northern powers had many contacts with Xia and Liao.
Therefore, they still know a lot about everything about Xia and Liao. They have also known what Su Jin said for a long time, but they dare not talk about the great power of Xia and Liao in the court.
Looking for trouble.
Su Jin naturally never cared about this, and he didn't think much about it at all. He just wanted to tell everything he saw and heard, and his starting point was naturally for the sake of the Song Dynasty.
Zhao Zhen couldn't sit still. It wasn't that Su Jin said that the soldiers of the Song Dynasty were not as strong and disciplined as other countries that made him uneasy, but because there was a hint of worry in Su Jin's words, which was what he cared about.
"What Su Aiqing means is that Xia and Liao may secretly unite to fight against the Song Dynasty?"
"It shouldn't happen in the short term, but as time goes by, this is almost an inevitable result. I believe that more attention should be paid to the movements of the Liao Kingdom on the border. Once the Liao soldiers on the Bazhou front line gather in large numbers, it will inevitably lead to two
A signal for the National Alliance to attack the Song Dynasty."[
"Is this why you don't agree with sending troops from the northwest and Bazhou front lines south?"
Su Jin nodded and said: "Exactly, we have never known the specific time when the secret alliance was reached between Xia and Liao, but one thing is certain. Once the troops are deployed and an imbalance of border forces is caused, it will speed up the process of their joint revenge; after
After the war between Xia and Liao, although the Song Dynasty was the strongest among the three kingdoms, it was far from being able to resist the attacks of Liao and Xia at the same time, not to mention that the south was still using troops; Nong Zhigao's rebellion was limited to the Yi mountainous areas.
In the land of dense forests, without the support of these terrains, they lost their advantage. Therefore, to the Song Dynasty, they were just scabies. We only need to mobilize appropriate support from surrounding states and provide material assistance to General Di.
, so what if we delay it for a year and a half? On the contrary, the two countries of Liao and Xia, now and in the future, are our greatest worries, the Song Dynasty."
Zhao Zhen thought for a while, looked at the ministers of His Highness, and seemed to be asking for advice.
By nature, the party members will retaliate for their unruly behavior and have never truly bowed to others. Now that they are weak, they are resorting to humiliation to preserve their strength. If they are allowed to succeed, they will definitely bite back as Mr. Su said."
Bao Zheng, the censor Zhongcheng, also stepped forward and said: "I also agree with Mr. Su's advice. We must be wary of others. We are with tigers and wolves, and we must be careful about everything. Mr. Su, who travels across the northwest, still has this concern, how can we not pay attention to it.
"
Zhao Zhen sighed and said: "According to this, this time driving Xia to fight against Liao also attracted the hatred of Xia and Liao. The Lord of Liao sent a letter of credence the day before yesterday, angrily accusing the Song Dynasty of betrayal and severing everything from the Song Dynasty.
They closed all trading places on the border and declared that we would not live together. I had known that there would be such a result and I didn’t care much about it. However, what Su Aiqing said about the secret alliance between Xia and Liaoning was something I didn’t expect.
, I thought the Xia people would be grateful to me, the Song Dynasty, for preserving their place."
Su Jin said: "Xia people are not stupid!"
Everyone heard the implication of Su Jin's words. Don't think that the Xia people were only two hundred and fifty. They knew that the Song State was just using them, and what Su Jin did was obvious. During the war, Su Jin did not take into account the casualties of the Xia army.
, caused the Xia army to lose more than 100,000 yuan in the battle with the Liao army, and took away all the kerosene and other supplies that were aided after the war. The Xia people may not have understood it at the time, but as long as they used their brains a little later, they would understand Su Jin's
The intention was evil; Su Jin was probably synonymous with devil in the Xia court, and his reputation was extremely bad.
"Forget it, if you have any objections, I will agree with Su Aiqing's memorial, not to mobilize troops from the north, but to mobilize troops from the nearby state capital for support; but I would like to ask all of you, since there are worries about Xia and Liao jointly attacking the Song Dynasty, what will happen to our Song Dynasty?
How to deal with it? You can’t just wait for them to recover.”
Everyone unanimously turned their attention to Su Jin, and even the central leaders such as Yan Shu and Du Yan were automatically ignored, as if only Su Jin had the best strategy.
Su Jin saw the embarrassment on Yan Shu's face. Although he and Yan Shu had always been in the same faction, that was in the past. He was an official outside the country, and there was no direct conflict in terms of power. On the contrary, the relationship was easy to get along with. At this time, they both became ministers of the central government.
If you don't pay attention to restraint, huge differences will occur; Fu Bi is a living example. Weng's son-in-law turned against him due to the New Deal, and before and after Fu Bi was demoted, Yan Shu didn't even say a word to ask for permission. This is clear evidence, even if Yan Shu said that he was
To avoid suspicion, but this reason is really not convincing.
"Wei ministers have not yet come up with a good plan. Privy Councilor Yan Xiangdu must have a countermeasure." Su Jin said, "I would like to hear the opinions of the two elders."
Zhao Zhen secretly praised Su Jin's cleverness. At that moment, he almost ignored the existence of the Prime Minister and the Privy Council. It seemed that only Su Jin's words were the best strategy. It must be said that he was a little rude.
"Yan Aiqing has always been calm and meticulous, which is the foundation of our Song Dynasty. I want to hear your opinion."
The unhappiness on Yan Shu's face disappeared, and he regained his calm expression. He walked forward slowly and said: "Your Majesty, colleagues, I was too optimistic about the situation after the battle of Helan Mountain in Liaoxia. Of course, the situation may not be the same.
As Mr. Su said, there is no need to worry unreasonably about the imminent disaster, because no matter what, this war caused huge losses to the Liao and Xia countries in terms of morale and actual results, and both sides suffered huge losses.
The army consumes a lot of supplies and wants to do whatever it wants in a short period of time. That is wishful thinking."
The officials clearly sensed Yan Shu's disapproval of Su Jin's previous analysis. The sensitive officials immediately began to speculate on the scale of the confrontation between the two. Those who thought far ahead immediately began to think about where to stand.
Let's talk while talking.
However, Yan Shu did not let their thoughts fly further. He changed the topic and continued: "But Mr. Su's worries are not groundless. Near-term worries do not mean that there are no long-term concerns. Liao Xia has suffered a big loss, and he hates it."
The other party did not hate the Song Dynasty as much as the Song Dynasty, because the Song Dynasty was the initiator that caused them to fight. From the perspective of long-term interests, the possibility of an alliance between Liao and Xia was becoming more and more likely; and the Xia people who Master Su pointed out immediately
The deployment of heavy troops on the northwest border reflects the psychology of the Xia people. In their hearts, the Song Dynasty is their powerful enemy. The goals of the Liao people are naturally more clear. They were stabbed in the back by the Song Dynasty, so they naturally feel resentment.
The first great Song Dynasty."
"The old minister was just here thinking of a way to deal with it. After much deliberation, I came to the conclusion that instead of 'rich country and strong army, strong army and powerful horse', the Song Dynasty must be so powerful that they dare not think about it. That is the fundamental solution.
Tao, get rid of him."
Zhao Zhen frowned. Yan Shu's words sounded watertight, but in fact they were empty talk. Everyone knew that a strong self could deter the enemy, but this could not be achieved by just talking. What Zhao Zhen needed were concrete measures.
"What Prime Minister Yan said is reasonable, what does Privy Du think?" Zhao Zhen did not comment too much on Yan Shu's words. Maybe Yan Shu didn't think about it well, so he didn't have to chase after him with such watertight big words.
Maybe there will be a better way in the future when I have time to think about it.[
Du Yan hurriedly said: "I have a good idea for a while, but I will strengthen border defense and pay close attention to the movements of enemy troops on the border to nip it in the bud. I also have a suggestion. In order to be fully prepared, I would like to increase the number of soldiers recruited by each state.
By increasing the number of soldiers in the five capitals, the entire Song Dynasty can increase its military strength by 200,000 to prepare for war needs."
Before Zhao Zhen could answer, Yan Shu, who was also the third envoy, said: "Two hundred thousand soldiers? Where do the armor, weapons, soldiers, pay and food come from? This is a standing army. The additional cost of 200,000 people a year is at least 4 million guan. What's more?
Not counting the initial capital for armor and weapons, the imperial court’s annual revenue is only 40 million yuan in taxes and duties. Money is needed everywhere, so where does the money come from?”
Du Yan apologized and said with a smile: "If the burden is shared among the various states, there's nothing they can't afford."
Yan Shu shook his head and said: "The local interception has been cancelled. The procurement department is directly dispatched by the imperial court. How do you ask the various state governments to bear the responsibility? Isn't this forcing them to hang themselves?"
Du Yan said: "How about raising the taxes a little bit. Anyway, our taxes are not heavy, so it doesn't hurt to increase them a little."
Yan Shu shouted: "It's ridiculous. How can the tax rate set by the court be increased at will? The emperor said that if you don't increase taxes for ten years, you will let the emperor break his trust with the people?"
Du Yan was also angry and said coldly: "Then what do you think we should do? How can we enrich a country and strengthen its military? I can also say this, but what's the use?"
Yan Shu's face became hot and he said angrily: "You..."
Seeing the two people arguing in the hall, Zhao Zhen behaved as usual when his ministers argued. He had no intention of turning off the fire and just sat silently. Su Jin couldn't stand it anymore and hurriedly came out to smooth things over and said: "Both gentlemen, please don't get excited. I
It’s a bit of immature suggestion, so I’ll put it out for your two adults’ reference. Both adults are concerned about national affairs, which shows their sincerity, but this is the court after all, and the emperor and all your adults are here.”
Yan Shu and Du Yan realized they had lost their composure, looked at each other angrily, and returned to their respective positions.