The reason why Yelu Zongyuan first targeted the Great Zhou for revenge was not because he thought that the Great Zhou was easier to deal with than the Jurchens at the moment. In fact, there had been a consensus among the Liao Kingdom for a long time, that is, although the Great Zhou in the south was
It is a big piece of fat meat, but it is unrealistic to swallow it in one bite. You will choke to death. This piece of fat meat can be bitten off and eaten in one bite. You must not do it too hastily. The reason why we attacked Da Zhou first was to deliberately do what Chen Bing did at the border.
He showed the attitude of planning a massive invasion because he knew that the kings and ministers of the Zhou Dynasty would definitely send people to negotiate peace.
Having dealt with the Zhou people for many years, the Liao people are familiar with the character of the Zhou people. As long as there is a chance for peace negotiation, they will not fight to the death, but will choose peace negotiation. They like to take a step back with the saying that "small impatience will mess up big plans"
The world is brighter and the sky is brighter, "the overall situation is more important" to convince yourself. Since you can't swallow this big piece of fat, this is the opportunity to take a bite and get benefits.
Therefore, Yelu Zongyuan was not surprised by the arrival of the peace envoys from the Great Zhou Dynasty. He had already expected this.
In terms of etiquette, the Liao people were still polite. Prime Minister Han Yanshou personally met with the newly promoted deputy prime minister Liu Zhenbang who came to negotiate peace. Liu Zhenbang was originally a director of the political hall. After Guo Xu ascended the throne, he was promoted by Lu Zhongtian.
The deputy prime minister was originally Lu Zhongtian's man, and he had no ability other than flattering and being obedient. This time he came to negotiate peace with Lu Zhongtian's instructions.
Lu Zhongtian's request was: As long as the Liao people do not invade the Zhou Dynasty, everything can be discussed.
The peace talks between the defeated and the victors were undoubtedly extremely unequal. Although Liu Zhenbang was already prepared to speak loudly, he was still shocked when he heard the Liao people's peace talks conditions. The Liao people's conditions were really real.
Too harsh.
Han Yanshou put forward four conditions. The first condition was to cede territory. The Liao people wanted the Zhou Dynasty to give up several border towns, including Bazhou, Ansu and Daizhou in the west. These were important border towns and were ceded to the Liao people.
After that, the Yanyun Defense Line, which is well fortified and well defended, and the border towns bordering Datong Prefecture in Xijing, Liao Kingdom in the west, will fall into the hands of the Liao people. The entire border town defense line will be full of loopholes. The second condition is compensation. The war caused
All the losses suffered by the Liao Kingdom must be compensated by the Zhou Dynasty. I don’t know how Han Yanshou calculated the figures. The total amount of compensation required is as high as 30 million taels. The third condition is to demand the punishment of war criminals. The list given by Han Yanshou
Here, the names of Yang Jun, Bai Qi and others are clearly listed. They are all senior generals in the Northern Expedition. The fourth condition is to ask the Zhou Dynasty to resume the tribute of silk coins and reopen more than a dozen hunting grounds.
Bans were lifted on steel, sulfur, gunpowder, rice, salt, lacquered books, craftsmen, manufacturing techniques, and many other commodities and skills that had previously been strictly prohibited from trade and exchange by the Zhou court.
When these four conditions were put forward, Liu Zhenbang did not dare to agree casually even with Lu Zhongtian's instruction that "nothing should be discussed". If he agreed to such conditions, he would be punished when he returned to Dazhou.
It was immediately too late.
The two sides bargained, one asking for a price, and the other sitting down to pay back. One side was arrogant, and the other was asking for compromise. One side was arrogant, and the other was groveling. The negotiators on the Liao side turned over the table several times, blew their beards, glared, and threatened to terminate the negotiations and start a war immediately, but in the end they still
They sit at the negotiating table again and again and continue to negotiate. In fact, the Liao people want the lion to open their mouths, knowing that the other party cannot agree to some terms, but in this way they can force the other party to agree to the terms they really want.
For example, when it comes to ceding lands and cities, the Liao people know that it is impossible to achieve their goal. If they insist on the first clause, it will not be possible at all. The Zhou Dynasty will be forced to go to war by this. Therefore, if in the end,
After Liao agreed to make concessions and did not ask Da Zhou to cede territory, Da Zhou also had to make compromises in other places. This is the skill of negotiation. The purpose of asking for a high price is not to break up the negotiation, but precisely to gain exchange for concessions.
More benefits. And the Liao people are the victors, they have the capital to do this.
After many twists and turns, Liu Zhenbang lost countless smiles and endured countless ridicules and insults, and finally the two parties reached new peace terms.
First, in the battle between the Great Zhou Dynasty and the Liao Kingdom, the Liao side's losses were fully compensated by the Great Zhou Dynasty. The two parties agreed that the Great Zhou Dynasty should pay a total compensation of 10 million taels of silver in the form of money or food, cloth, tea, ironware, etc. Secondly, the Great Zhou Dynasty paid
The Zhou Dynasty needed to open up the foraging markets in border towns, no longer prohibit the trading of goods, and allow the Liao Kingdom to obtain all the goods it needed from the forging markets. The Zhou court was not allowed to interfere. Thirdly, the Emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty needed to apologize to the Emperor of the Liao Dynasty, and both parties
Friendship was restored and a new Yanyun Alliance was established. The Great Zhou Dynasty resumed paying tribute to the Liao Kingdom in annual coins and silk. The amount of tribute increased to three million taels of silver and 500,000 pieces of cloth every year. The Emperor Guo Xu of the Great Zhou Dynasty paid tribute to the Emperor Yelu of the Liao Dynasty.
Zongyuan is called nephew.
In addition to these three explicit clauses, there was also a secret agreement. The Liao people insisted on punishing the general who led the invasion of the Zhou Dynasty. Yang Jun, the privy envoy of the Zhou Dynasty, must die because he acted in front of the city during the attack on Xijin Mansion.
In front of the soldiers and horses of the Liao Dynasty, the third prince Yelv Shi of the Liao Kingdom was beheaded in front of the battle. Yelv Zong wanted Yang Jun's head to pay tribute to the soul of his favorite third prince Yelv Shi.
Needless to say, the three clauses clearly stated that the Liao Kingdom would receive huge compensation and great benefits. From now on, the Zhou Dynasty would have no defense against the Liao people, and any materials and advanced technology would flow into the Liao without any prohibition. The burden of annual supplies would also be
It will be even more heavy. The relationship between the two countries has suddenly changed from the reciprocal relationship between brotherly countries to the relationship between elders and juniors. This is a huge humiliation to the Great Zhou Dynasty. But compared with the previous benefits, this humiliation is actually
It's no longer important.
What really shows the evil intentions of the Liao people is the last secretly agreed clause. The reason why the Liao people want to kill Yang Jun seems to be to avenge Yelvshi, but in fact, the real intention of the Liao people is to destroy the Great Zhou Dynasty.
The backbone of the army. The only general in the Zhou Dynasty who could lead troops and become the mainstay was Privy Councilor Yang Jun.
.Although he was defeated, this victory actually had many accidents. Yang Jun was still the only person in the Zhou army who could compete with the Liao people. With him around, the Liao people would be afraid. Once Yang Jun was lost, the Liao people would be afraid.
Zhou would be like destroying the Great Wall. In the future, if you want to attack Zhou, you don't have to consider the opponent's coach. Let Yang Jun, who can fight, be finished, and its significance is no less than the previous three clauses.
Liu Zhenbang believed that at this point, he had reached the limit of what he could do. The clause on ceding territory was deleted, and the compensation was reduced to only 10 million taels, which could be offset by materials. The list of generals that the Liao people requested to be punished was only
There is only one person left. As for opening up the market, that in itself is a matter of benefit to both parties. The Liao people also promised to ban the trading of some commodities such as fur horses. Although the number of annual contributions from the New Yanyun Alliance has increased significantly, these few million
The court can still bear the two taels of silver and cloth. My own efforts are already great enough.
The only thing that made Liu Zhenbang find it difficult was that the Liao people wanted to kill Envoy Yang. Liu Zhenbang felt that he might not be able to explain this when he returned. But the Liao people insisted on this, otherwise they would overturn all the terms and launch an attack. Liu Zhenbang had no choice but to agree. When I return to Bianliang, I will ask Lu Zhongtian for instructions.
…
Today's court meeting between the kings and ministers of the Zhou Dynasty is to discuss the terms of the three-day peace agreement. Disputes in the palace are inevitable. Some officials scolded Liu Zhenbang angrily for negotiating such humiliating terms, which humiliated the Zhou Dynasty. Some officials were generous He made a speech and asked the imperial court to mobilize troops and horses to prepare for a decisive battle with the Liao people. If this humiliating clause was agreed to, the Zhou Dynasty would lose face and how could the Zhou generals gain a foothold in the world.
However, most of the officials knew in their hearts that starting a war with the Liao State under the current situation would be humiliating themselves. The soldiers and horses in the border towns were definitely no match for the Liao people. The 250,000 soldiers and horses in the northwest might be able to In the First World War, the Northwest Army led by Yang Jun's direct lineage Yuan Zhenqian still had combat effectiveness. After all, it was composed of veterans who had fought fierce battles with the Xixia soldiers and horses, so they had some strength. However, Xixia relied on them to stabilize the situation. If they were mobilized What would Xixia do if the 250,000 troops came? There was no time. The Liao people only gave the Zhou Dynasty fifteen days to consider the terms of the peace negotiation. In these fifteen days, whether it was to mobilize troops or raise food and grass, The money is too late.
Although the crowd was excited, even though they burst into tears, even though all the officials vowed to share the worries of the imperial court and fight to the death against the Liao people at all costs. However, when Lu Zhongtian finally asked whether the peace agreement could be reached, the vast majority of officials still sighed and said : At present, it may be appropriate to temporarily agree to such conditions. After all, the country, the country, and the country are the most important, after all, the overall situation is important, after all, you cannot lose big because of small things, after all, small impatience will mess up big plans...
Although a very small number of officials were extremely angry and burst into tears, they did not take any drastic action such as hitting a pillar and dying. After all... their lives were their own, and it seemed that it was not time to show off their lives.
