"The region of our dynasty is bordered by Liao in the north, and intersects with Liao with the Haihe Jingu area (today's Jinhai River), Hebei Bazhou, and Shanxi Yanmen Pass; In the northwest, it was bordered by Hengshan in Qinchuan (present-day Shaanxi), eastern Yongzhou in Ganzhou, Huangshui River in Xining (belonging to Qinghai) and Xiazhou (now Hengshan County in northern Shaanxi, later Western Xia); Due west, it is bordered by the Tibetan tribes; The southwest is bordered by Dali.

Dali is small and the people are weak, and it is not enough to be troubled. The tribes of Xiazhou and Tubo, which were divided by the party, are hidden dangers in our dynasty. Zhao Deming (Li Deming, because of the Song Dynasty, changed his surname to Zhao) Although he was a minister to our court, he has always been eyeing the tiger, and once there is war and turmoil between our dynasty and Liao, they will be given an opportunity. My Great Song Dynasty and the Liao State Sandpiper Clam competed, hundreds of thousands of soldiers fought bloodily, laboring the people and losing money, but let them benefit from the fishermen, which is really unwise. Three also. The emperor paced slowly in the hall with his hands behind his back, talking eloquently.

The Queen Mother was shocked: "What news did the emperor get about Zhao Deming's intention to be unfavorable to our dynasty?" ”

The emperor hurriedly bowed down and said: "Don't be alarmed, the queen mother, Zhao Deming was seriously ill in June, and now he has just recovered. In addition, there is nothing else to do in Xiazhou. It's just that Emperor Taizong did not pacify the Tuoba Li clan in one fell swoop, but let Li Jiqian occupy Yinzhou and Huizhou, asked the Liao people to surrender, and was named the king of Western Xia by the Khitan. In the second year of Dao (996), Li Jiqian intercepted 400,000 grain and grass of our Song army, and sent a large army to surround Lingwu City. Emperor Taizong sent a five-way army to attack Xia, but they were all defeated. After my father ascended the throne, in order to calm the people, ceding Xia, Sui, Yin, You (Jingbian, Shaanxi), Jing (Shaanxi Mizhi) to Li Jiqian, Xianping five years (AD 1002), Li Jiqian led the tribes to capture the Song Dynasty town of Lingzhou, renamed Xiping Mansion, and then captured the northwest town of Liangzhou, cut off the Song Dynasty and the Western Regions of the trade route, cut off the Western Regions to the Song Dynasty's tribute, and secretly contacted the Western Regions departments, prohibiting them from selling horses to our border army, the intention is clear, obviously want to weaken our border defense, take the opportunity to attack. ”

The Queen Mother's eyes showed a look of surprise, and the surprise slowly subsided, and she just nodded slowly, her expression was quite solemn. After a long time, the Queen Mother said: "Your father and emperor have focused on the Khitan border all his life, and after the alliance of the Yuanyuan, no one will disturb my Great Song Dynasty. Even if Li Jiqian was given the five prefectures of Xia, Sui, Yin, You, and Jing back then, he only said that he was a small nomadic tribe, as long as he had cattle and sheep and pastures, and he bowed down to our court, followed my surname of the Great Song Dynasty, and had the title of the Son of Heaven of the Great Song Dynasty, he would not rashly come to attack. ”

The Queen Mother coughed lightly twice, and said sharply in a low voice: "If it is not my race, its heart will be different." The party Xiang Tuoba clan also has the ambition to establish a country and become the emperor! ”

The emperor nodded and continued: "Therefore, I stationed at the border to deter the countries and protect the territory and the people. The great rise of soldiers, regardless of victory or defeat, will damage the vitality, and the killing and capture of it is nothing more than using the flesh and blood of tens of millions of soldiers to dye the country. The two armies fought each other, killing a river of blood, destroying the forest, and then encountering Zhao Deming waiting for an opportunity to attack, our army suffered from the enemy, but it may not be able to recover the rivers and mountains of Yanyun Sixteen Prefectures in one fell swoop. No matter what turmoil there is in Liao, it is not appropriate to act rashly and fight at will. It is to strengthen our troops, recuperate and recuperate, and enrich our people. I prosper and decline, this is called attacking without attacking, fighting without fighting. After speaking, he looked at the Queen Mother.

The Queen Mother listened to the emperor's grand remarks, looked at his spirit of crisscrossing the past and the present, and looked at all the lands, her eyes were moist, and she couldn't help nodding, but she just said: "Good, good, good!" ”

The emperor smiled and said, "The queen mother has won the award." ”

"The mourning family has lived to this day, after four generations of our dynasty, and I am fortunate to have seen the emperors of three dynasties." The Queen Mother held the back of the chair with her hand, slowly stood up, looked at the emperor, and her face was full of praise: "Zhen'er, my Great Song Dynasty has opened the country so far, and the four emperors in power are all wise monarchs with extraordinary literary and martial arts. However, compared to this strategy in your chest, you are stronger than your father and Emperor Taizong, and you are chasing Emperor Taizu. ”

The Queen Mother stared at the emperor: "As for your royal benevolence, Zhen'er, the queen mother pushes you first." ”

The emperor's expression was full of fear and joy, and he hurriedly said to the queen mother: "The queen mother mispraised the child, and the son did not dare." ”

The Queen Mother smiled and said: "Take people as a reference, you can dress properly; Taking history as a mirror, we can understand the gains and losses. A truly wise monarch is not afraid of the comments of future generations, let alone being compared. Those who rule the world should be as clear as the sun and the moon in everything they do in their lives. He is not only the king of the current dynasty, but also the treasure of future generations. ”

The Queen Mother said and sighed slightly: "The queen mother listens to the government, but sometimes she can't accept the advice with an open mind and accept the criticism of the officials. ”

The emperor hurriedly said: "Don't blame yourself, the queen mother has been wise and fair all her life, and she is praised by the court." ”

The Queen Mother smiled and said: "The Queen Mother is already old, and the emperor will be in charge of the affairs of the government in the future." The merits and demerits behind you are all up to them. I don't know if the emperor knows about the Dao, but I was so angry with some of the remarks of Nalu Zongdao that I snubbed his descendants. Now the mourning family has seen everything. Nalu Chungui is the granddaughter of Lu Zongdao, who participated in politics by the fish head, and entered the palace on my orders. The emperor should not treat her lightly. ”

When the emperor heard the queen mother mention Lu Chungui, he hurriedly said: "Please tell the queen mother where her son Shu'e is." ”

The Queen Mother looked at the emperor and said slowly: "Shu'e's ancestor Cao Bin fought for the country all his life, and in the fifth year of Zhou Xiande (958), he was sent to envoy Wu Yue. In the second year of Jianlong (961), Emperor Taizu was highly valued, promoted to the envoy of the guest province, led the cavalry to attack Pingyang County, Hedong, surrendered 1,800 enemy generals and captured more than 1,000 enemies. In the early years of Qiande (963), he was reappointed as General Zuo Shenwu. At that time, Liaozhou had just been conquered, and Hedong brought 60,000 Khitan cavalry to attack Pingjin, and Cao Bin, Li Jixun and other generals defeated the enemy army under the city. In the second year of Qiande (964), he led the army to destroy Houshu. In the sixth year of Qiande (968), he led the army to conquer the Northern Han Dynasty. In the seventh year of Kaibao (974), he led 100,000 troops to attack the Southern Tang Dynasty, and in the following year, Kejinling made a decision to attack the Northern Han Dynasty and Liao. He has made great achievements in his life, Taizu, Taizong and your father are very important to him, and he is really the power of the court, which you all know? ”

The emperor nodded and said, "Erchen knows the way." ”

The Queen Mother nodded again and said: "Cao Can, the eldest son of Cao Bin, resisted the Khitan invasion on the Song-Liao border and fought many battles. Before the conclusion of the alliance of the Yuanyuan, he was stationed on the border all year round to defend the border between China and North Korea. Later, he sent troops many times to invite Li Jiqian to invade the tribe, and captured many people. He has been in the forbidden army for more than ten years, and his achievements are outstanding, and he is also quite famous. The Queen Mother sat down again and said slowly. It's just that although the tone is slow, word by word, it is very clear and powerful.