The official asked: "Shen Kuo reported that the Lord of Liao once again stationed troops in Yunzhong, and forced Lord Dangxiang to kill the Liang family and marry the Khitan princess to form an alliance. Is this true?"
Zhang Yue said: "Your Majesty, my speculation about this matter is probably true."
The official said: "It is extremely difficult for me to pacify Dangxiang within a few years. I never expected that Dangxiang would attack the Liao Kingdom like this."
"Even if I take Liangzhou, it will be nothing more than a mirror in the mirror. The troops stationed in Liangzhou will consume a lot of manpower and material resources in the future."
"If the Liao Kingdom's temperament requires me to abandon Liangzhou and return Dangxiang's old land, what can I do?"
Zhang Yue found it funny to hear the officials say this.
There are three steps for officials to understand things.
The first step is to have a goal in your heart, but you can't reach it no matter what. A child from a poor family looks at the busy traffic and squandering money in the homes of rich people, and feels envy that lingers in his heart, longing that he can also live such a life.
After the second step, I worked hard to get it, but I found that I paid too much and in the end it was not what I wanted.
This step is often seen in TV dramas where villains try their best to achieve wealth and wealth, but in the end their love and family ties are gone, leaving them alone and alone.
After working hard for a long time, it came to nothing.
This is when officials finally realize that what they want to get comes at a price. Behind every benefit there is a disadvantage.
Of course, this is also the principle of lying flat philosophy, which tells you that everything is empty.
The third step is to do nothing after the first two or two steps. When you are about to die, you will begin to regret why you did not live according to your own intention.
Zhang Yue said: "Your Majesty, everything in the world is nothing but positive and negative. At first, Your Majesty thought that taking Liangzhou seemed to be beneficial, but now that the Liao Kingdom has intervened, it has become harmful."
"Your Majesty, it is reasonable to worry that the Liao Kingdom will use this to threaten us to abandon Liangzhou or attack our country."
The official said: "I do have this concern, so I ask this question, if Liao wants me to give up Liangzhou, will I do it?"
Zhang Yue said: "Your Majesty has far-reaching plans. I believe that the country now has a method to deal with the Dangxiang and the Khitan. It can both conquer and make peace. It is necessary to both conquer and make peace."
"The most taboo thing in the affairs of the world is to stick to one end, only levy but no peace, or only peace and no levy. The imperial court must have levy and peace with the party. The same is true for the Khitan. When it is time to fight, you must dare to fight.
There must be compromise after the fight."
"The purpose of fighting Liao is to compromise, and to compromise with Party items is to fight again later! The purpose and means cannot be mistaken."
After hearing Zhang Yue's words, the official's expression calmed slightly and he said: "You are the one with far-reaching strategies."
Zhang Yue said: "I don't want to be a minister. The Khitan's national policy is to always test the loyalty of allies and vassals by making demands on them."
"For example, the previous alliance of Chanyuan, then the tribute increase in Qingli, and the demarcation of the border between the two countries in Xining, and the Dangxiang forced Li Bingchang to kill Empress Liang, marry the princess of Liao, and pay tribute to Zhenhe and the Five Kingdoms.
."
"The diplomacy of the Liao Kingdom, I say, is to exert maximum pressure. We will always keep in contact with you and suppress your bottom line step by step. Once you regret it, all your previous efforts will be in vain, and at the same time it will intensify the contradiction, and you can handle the contradiction.
Eliminate all hidden dangers in the first place.”
"But every thing in the world has its advantages and disadvantages."
"As long as a challenger appears, the Liao Kingdom will do its best to suppress it in order to prevent other vassal states from complaining. Once it cannot be suppressed, other countries will also follow suit and rebel."
"Among the neighboring countries of the Liao Kingdom, only this dynasty has the strongest military force. The best policy for the Liao Kingdom is not to be an enemy of the Song Dynasty. Once the enemy is unable to win, other tribes will not be able to suppress it."
This is the same as what happened in the late Qing Dynasty. The authority of the imperial court could no longer be maintained, and the situation of mutual protection between the southeast and the southeast emerged.
After hearing Zhang Yue's words, the official looked calm again, took a sip of tea from the red clay stove nearby.
"I understand what you mean. The Liao Kingdom will not use large-scale troops against the Song Dynasty."
Zhang Yue said: "Your Majesty is wrong. The Liao Dynasty will use troops. Once he feels that the dynasty really wants to change his mind, he will unite with the party to attack. You must not rely on the Liao Dynasty not to use troops against itself."
The core of the Liao Kingdom's logic is the loyalty test, which remains unchanged. Therefore, it was correct for Fu Bi to increase his annual currency by 200,000 yuan, otherwise the Liao Kingdom would have attacked. It was after receiving the money that the Liao Kingdom
Feel free to use troops against the party items boldly.
For the Liao State, the only difference between countries is that the negotiation space is different. The Liao State usually opens its mouth to the Song Dynasty, the largest power in the world, and basically does not bargain, and even gives you the feeling of taking advantage.
Next is Korea, party items are also discussed and negotiated. As long as you are convinced, we can discuss it slowly. If you are not convinced, I will beat you until you are convinced.
As for the Jurchens, the divination and the Five Kingdoms tribes all went to Liangshan to force them. If you obey me, you will have to kneel down. If you dare not obey, I will kill you. Emperor Tian Zuo did not kill anyone who refused to dance at the fish feast in the end.
When Yan Agu fought, he knew that the Liao Kingdom was already a powerful country.
The official couldn't help but put down the tea soup that was almost on his lips and said, "Isn't this normal?"
Zhang Yue said: "Your Majesty, this is unusual. The dispute between the Liao and Song Dynasties cannot be regarded as a game between the two countries. The Lord of Liao did not want to fall out with the Song Dynasty, but intervened in party affairs, which turned the game between the two countries into a three-party game. This is
It is the place where the lord of Liao was wise and far away."
"In a three-party game, whichever party is the arbiter can win over one faction and fight against the other. Now in the dispute between this dynasty and Dangxiang, the Liao Kingdom must be the arbiter. But we must also break the thinking and not be tied to Dangxiang, the Liao Kingdom and the Song Dynasty.
Between them, for example, the Song Dynasty, Gaoli and Liao Dynasty, or the Song Dynasty Jurchen and Liao Dynasty, are they not one and the same Three Kingdoms?"
"To turn the two-party game into a three-party or four-party game, or even a multi-party game, this can transfer and share risks, and it can also muddy the waters!"
The officials secretly felt a sense of enjoyment after listening to Zhang Yue's words, just like a master playing chess. If you make a good move, I will also make a good move. Since the Liao Dynasty and Dangxiang have reached an alliance, the Song Dynasty will play a three-party game.
If China is at a disadvantage, then we cannot go against the odds and open up a new battlefield. In short, we cannot let you, the Liao Kingdom, concentrate all your efforts on dealing with me. I want to distract your energy.
The official asked: "Are you persuading me to form an alliance with Goryeo?"
Zhang Yue said seriously: "Your Majesty, in fact, it is not my idea to unite with Goryeo to control Liao."
"As early as Renzong's reign, Fu Bi proposed among the Twelve Strategies for Hebei Province, he advocated restoring relations with Goryeo to contain the Liao Kingdom."
"In the first year of Xining, businessman Huang Shen secretly followed His Majesty's instructions and crossed the sea to pay homage to the Lord of Goryeo and conveyed his intention to reconcile with Goryeo."
"At that time, Goryeo replied that it was consecrating the Liao Kingdom as Zhengshuo, and continued to communicate with the Song Dynasty while paying tribute to the Liao Dynasty. Your Majesty Shengming agreed to this proposal at that time, so this dynasty did not grant the title of King of Goryeo. However, Goryeo gave the title of King of Goryeo to the Song Dynasty.
The title of the Liao Kingdom was also kindly concealed in the credential."
"In the ninth year of Xining, because the Liao army pressed on the border to negotiate the demarcation of the border, the officials sent An Tao and Chen Mu to go to Korea as envoys, thinking it was a detour."
The officials were secretly happy after hearing this. Yes, this is my original national policy.
"But An Tao told me that after all, Goryeo has been alienated from our dynasty for a long time, and the monarchs are also very cautious, and they will not be willing to fall out with Liao if the matter is serious."
Zhang Yue said: "Your Majesty, things in the world are far from fragrant and near smelly. As far as I know, although Goryeo served the Liao Kingdom respectfully, it paid tribute and sent greetings constantly at all times."
"However, the Liao Dynasty has been trying to set up a market for exchanges between Liao and Li in the Yalu River, but the leader of Korea stated that as long as the Liao Dynasty does not withdraw from Baozhou and Dingzhou, no market will be opened."
"Although the country of Goryeo is not big, its ambitions are not small. Its ambition to fuck the chicken first and then tie the duck is obvious. If it cannot protect the state, the danger of the Yalu River will be in vain. At the same time, Goryeo regards the land of Jurchen as the land of the past.
Goguryeo owned it and had the intention of annexing it. However, the Liao Kingdom regarded the Jurchens as its vassal state and would definitely refuse. As far as I know, in the land between Liao and Goguryeo, there are a large number of Jurchens who were not included in the Liao nationality.
, you can make a good relationship with Goryeo to connect with the Jurchens."
After hearing Zhang Yue's suggestion, the officials nodded slowly and contacted Goryeo. It was in line with his wishes for the Jurchens to deal with the Liao Kingdom.
Zhang Yue said: "I would like to ask your Majesty to go to sea in the name of treating the illness of the Lord of Goryeo, and to make Su Shi his envoy."
After hearing Su Shi's name, the official frowned and asked, "Does the envoy have to be Su Shi?"
Zhang Yue said: "Su Shi's literary fame spreads far and wide, and Goryeo admires Chinese culture the most. If Su Shi comes to Goryeo, the emperor may let us contact the Jurchens because of China's sincerity."
The official was silent for a moment, and it could be seen that he was still angry with Su Shi, and he was even unwilling to forgive Su Shi from the bottom of his heart.
But as an emperor, political reason still prevailed over emotion. In the end, the official said: "I'm afraid that even if Su Shi is reinstated, he will still have complaints in his heart."
Zhang Yue said: "Your Majesty, I guarantee that Su Shi will change his ways and will never make frivolous remarks again."
After hearing what Zhang Yue said, the official said: "For your sake, I will use Su Shi again and reinstate him as envoy to Goryeo!"
Zhang Yue said: "I thanked Your Majesty! I also thanked Su Shi!"
The official said: "Don't thank me. Without your foresight, I will not forgive Su Shi easily."
"I'm worried that if we have such contact with Goryeo and Jurchen, won't we offend the Liao Kingdom?"
Zhang Yue said: "Yes, so we have to prepare for a battle and then negotiate peace with the Khitan."
When the official heard this, he was worried and asked: "In your opinion, what is the outcome of this victory?"
Zhang Yue said: "Your Majesty, if you want to fight, you must win. Otherwise, what's the point of fighting? How can we make peace if we can't fight?"
Seeing that the officials were hesitant when they heard about starting a war with the Liao Kingdom, he finally made up his mind and said: "This matter can be done. Even if we lose, it will not be too late to negotiate peace with the Khitan. If I don't take this step, I will never be willing to do it in my life."
Zhang Yue retorted: "Your Majesty's words are wrong. There is no reason to argue about military warfare. There is a saying that if you can win, fight, and if you cannot win, leave."
"Winning can make you successful. The self that wins must be better than the self before. The self that loses must not be as good as the self before."
"Not being afraid of failure is a matter for the strong. We must regard ourselves as weak. The weak should accumulate small wins into big wins, and replace the previous self with a winning self to become stronger. And the failed self will become stronger.
It will destroy itself."
"If the country talks about fighting with the Liao army, it will fear the enemy like a tiger, and think of the failure of the two Northern Expeditions during Taizong's reign. This will never happen."
"So I think we should fight first, dare to fight this battle, and overcome this difficulty!"
After hearing this, the official said resolutely: "I am correct in everything you said and even the truth!"
PS: Some of the opinions in this chapter come from the headline author Hu Niuer’s reading.
