Mid-August.

The dense news is becoming more and more unfavorable to the stability of the Great Song Dynasty, and at this point, some prescient people began to feel that something was wrong.

Two commercial ships of the Song State Industrial Division, loaded with mining machinery and equipment, bound for Nagasaki from the port of Dengju, were attacked on their way out of the Yellow Sea and passing through the Korean Strait.

Two ships sank, expensive equipment was lost, and more than 100 Song Guo crew members and skilled workers who accompanied the ship were killed. This is the first time since the tense situation that a merchant ship has been in trouble.

In fact, because Chen Ergou's combat pressure was too great, the Nagasaki Naval Base did not have the ability to supply the frigate for the long voyage before it was completed, so under the range limit of the gasoline version of the frigate, Chen Ergou had done his best, but he could only use one frigate to protect the construction fleet of the Industrial Division.

But after leaving the Yellow Sea, it all depends on luck.

After this incident, the Jurchen pirate organization has already claimed responsibility.

But no one really knows who did it. At that time, seventeen Jurchen warships were sunk in the port of Suzhou in the Liao Kingdom, although not all of them were already most of the Jurchens' family base.

Subsequently, Chen Ergou continued to send messages to Wang Yan's hands, saying: The pirate situation in the Bohai Sea and the Yellow Sea is grim, and there are more and more trends, and the Song frigates have been at full power, and they have sunk four Jurchen warships and killed more than 200 Jurchen pirates during this period. But they still couldn't drive the Jurchens back to Liaodong.

Therefore, Wang Yan judged that there was only one explanation for this: the Liao State had openly compromised with the Great Song Dynasty, and at the same time had secretly intervened in the war in the East China Sea. It is true that the personnel should be Jurchens, but the warships were provided by the Liao State, or by forcing Goryeo.

This incident is to add insult to injury.

It was difficult as early as the early stage, and the small problems of the gasoline version of the battleship were still relatively frequent, and in the case of insufficient efficiency, it was necessary to assign a frigate to escort the merchant ships of the Industrial Division.

Now, the more pirates are suppressed, and the Koreans may fish in troubled waters, so without the escort of naval warships, the engineering ships of the Industrial Department will theoretically not be able to leave the Yellow Sea.

In the case of the urgent need to build the Nagasaki Naval Base, the frequency of engineering ships departing from Dengzhou Port by the Industrial Department was already relatively limited, and they had to line up in batches and leave the Yellow Sea under the escort of the Navy.

This has already led to delays in the progress of the Nagasaki naval base.

And now the situation has deteriorated further, and for the first time in the name of the Jurchens, they have counterattacked and begun to attack Song merchant ships and non-combatants.

The Jurchens are just ruthless but not so smart. This is Xiao Hui's attempt to slow down the construction of Song Guo's first overseas base. Xiao Hui made it clear to the fact that once the Nagasaki naval base was completed, half of East Asia was occupied by the Song hooligans without much effort.

However, if you are not in office, you cannot seek government. Chen Ergou sent a military report to Wang Yan in private, and he was already suspected of "leaking secrets", and Wang Yan didn't want to kill him.

So Wang Yan not only couldn't point fingers, but could only simply reply to Chen Ergou: remember the belief of the Song army, as a soldier, continue to fight dutifully before there is a new order. Don't think about anything else, don't ask me again, don't send me a military newspaper again.

Despite this, the Great Demon King in his heart was also in a hurry.

This is another signal, confirming that when Han Brain Shell declared war on Jiaozhi with a tough policy and began to make a big move to deploy troops, Lao Xiao also gradually followed the cards behind the scenes.

Now it's just foreplay, it's attraction. It's not time for old Xiao Stud yet.

But the big goose thinks that there will be a signal of increase soon, and the specific big bird cannot be expected. But it can definitely be related to the Zhao Zi incident in Jiehe. Lao Xiao will not be so stupid as "Liao Min only condemned things after being sentenced to death by Song officials".

For this special event, Zhao Zongshi, the prince of the prison state, specially visited Wang Yan to inquire.

When Xiao Zhao came, Wang Yan happened to be covered in and urine by Wang Xiaobai, but this is the life of the big demon king after he lives idlely now, a little warm and a little funny. This also reminded Zhao Zongshi of the time when he "took Zhao Ji when he was poor", so Xiao Zhao also felt very happy, and was very grateful that the Great Demon King did not come to scold the student with the honor of a mentor at a critical moment.

"Xianggong." Zhao Zongshi asked: "Now the students are a little confused, and the atmosphere is a little wrong. I don't know, is the question about the killing of Liao people in Jiehe really just condemnation? Xianggong said, I can ask if I have any questions, will you give them a lesson? ”

"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is polite." Wang Yan said: "I don't know what the Liao people will do, but in the East China Sea, the attack on the merchant ships of our industrial division was actually done by the Liao, and the Jurchens may be able to kill and rob, but theoretically they do not have the ability to quickly sink two Song merchant ships." Since the Liao people will no longer care about face if they do this, the Xiongzhou boundary river dispute caused by Zhao Zi will soon be responded to by the Liao people, which will not be too serious, but it will definitely make the Song State feel embarrassed and difficult to deal with. This is Zhao Zichuang's trouble. ”

Zhao Zongshi felt slightly disappointed, the Great Demon King estimated that there would be a response, but he couldn't know what way it was, so he wouldn't feel at ease if this boot didn't land.

After thinking about it, Zhao Zongshi said: "May I ask Xianggong, today in the capital hall to listen to the government, Han Qi Xianggong specifically commented on the attack on the ship of the Korean Strait Industrial Division, and commented on your policy of declaring war on the Jurchen pirates at that time, saying that you are a troublemaker like Zhao Zi, and you are the one who annoyed the Jurchens and the Liao." ”

Wang Yan smiled and asked, "Did Your Highness believe him?" ”

Zhao Zongshi said embarrassedly: "Half-believed." Han Qigong is not right about things, and what he said has some truth, but he feels a little biased in his anger. So I wanted to hear my father-in-law talk about it in person. ”

Wang Yan said: "Han Qi has Han Qi's thoughts, but I have my explanation. In fact, even if I don't provoke, won't the Liao Jurchens be angry? Did the Nine Guards mess with the Jurchens? The little girl was executed like a brute, that's the reality. In fact, everything happens without a reason, and what happened to Kubei proves that a thief is a thief, and he will be angry if he doesn't provoke him. I authorized the Navy frigates to attack the ports of Liao for only one purpose: to deceive them and delay the course of these events. Because at that time, I judged: if I don't make a move, they will make a move, so I would rather do it in advance, although I am not well equipped, but it also disrupts their plans and makes them unable to prepare normally. ”

After a pause, he said, "The minister is very happy. Of course, there will be sacrifices in the war, but the delay in these things has not happened until the middle of August, which is equivalent to winning half a year for my big song. Otherwise, the minister thought that if he didn't sink the Jurchen warships in one breath in February, then at most March would be the end of my great Song Dynasty's mighty commercial fleet by pirates, and the losses would be even more heavy. ”

Hearing this, Zhao Zongshi was generally grateful that the Great Demon King did not interfere as a teacher at a critical time, but he also wondered in his heart: doing these things was just his one-sided words and personal judgment. It doesn't mean that it's true, now it's up to him to say it with one mouth.

But no matter what, Han Qi Xianggong also said that those things were within the authority of his Great Demon King at that time, and he was in his position to govern, even if it really caused problems, it was just a mistake and not a crime. Han Qi admitted that he also "misemployed people" at that time, which caused some trouble.

For this reason, the Great Demon King has already paid the price of being dismissed, so there is no more to say.

Finally, Zhao Zongshi got up and said: "After listening to the minister's words, I feel a little more reliable in my heart, and now I can only wait." ”

He took his leave. And Wang Yan didn't keep him, because he heard that "Sanshao was invited to be a parent" again, and he had to deal with it......

The northern border is divided by a boundary river. The Song Kingdom on the south bank is a dense forest as far as the eye can see, while the Liao Kingdom on the north bank is bare.

Such a form represents that the Liao State is a strong wall and a clear field policy. And the Song State did not need such a policy defense.

Because the Song State was instigated a long time ago, the way to defend the Liao State was "New Year's coin", not military means. It's useless to clear the wilderness militarily, anyway, it can't withstand the clusters of the Liao State, so it simply chooses this.

This caused that in addition to the disputes over the Jiehe River, many Liao people liked to enter the forests of the Song Kingdom to hunt. Because the Liao people's own trees were cut down, the animals that relied on the woods to survive naturally ran to the Song Kingdom.

Then the Liao people brought back the prey they had caught in the woods of the Song State to deal with it, ate the meat, and then sold the furs to the Song people.

And now, in late August, a new situation has emerged: more and more Liao people have crossed the boundary river, cut down trees in the forests of the Song Kingdom, dragged the trees across the boundary river, and finally sold them.

This kind of thing will always happen, and a small area is normal. But now it is clearly not normal to be on a large scale.

National politics is all about virtue, either left or right. Zhao Zi was removed from his post for interfering with the Liao people in Jiehe for going too far, and now there is no chief official in Xiongzhou, and because Zhao Zi was dismissed, now the Xiongzhou bureaucracy completely ignores the Liao people cutting down trees, which has led to rapid and sustainable expansion. Like a group, nearly a thousand people cut down trees in the forests of the Song Kingdom.

When the news reached Tokyo, Han Qi and Zhao Zongshi felt very embarrassed. Sure enough, it was said by the Great Demon King, and soon there will be a response from the Liao people. Now it is obvious that it is a tree cutting incident.

Even Han Qi and Zhao Zongshi felt that this was a temptation and response from the Liao court. Those people are obviously not the people, the people are not so bold, and it makes no sense for a larger group to come over to pick up wool during the period when someone was sentenced to death, so it is obvious that it is the Liao army, but they just took off their military uniforms.

For this reason, Han Qi was a little uncertain.

So Zhao Zongshi came to see Wang Yan again and asked: "What does Xianggong think about the logging of the Liao people on the border of Xiongzhou, is this the so-called response you predicted a few days ago?" ”

Wang Yan frowned and said, "It's a response, but the response is more serious than I expected, which means that Xiao Hui is raising and calling." Most likely, he has already got the trump card and intends to gamble, so you look like he is playing a detour with the mud, which is actually to entice you to bet and follow. ”

Zhao Zongshi was startled and said: "It's just logging, why did Xianggong say that this response was very serious?" Han Qi and I just feel embarrassed, not serious. ”

Wang Yan raised his eyebrows and said: "Because of this, Lao Xiao is Lao Xiao, otherwise why did Han Qi lose to Haoshuichuan, and why did Lao Xiao capture Xingqing Mansion in Western Xia?" ”

Zhao Zongshi didn't want to raise the bar, and said eagerly: "Please tell me in detail." ”

Wang Yan said: "If Liao's response is: to arrest a certain Song person in Yanjing for reasons and sentence him to death, this is a normal small response. That shows that Lao Xiao is maintaining stability with the mud, which is a routine for other politicians in Liao to see, and an explanation to the people of Liao, but it is a compromise in his bones that he does not want to break his face with Song State. ”

After a pause, Wang Yan continued: "But as a hegemonic country, he doesn't even carry out a reciprocal judicial response now, so that the fishermen of the Liao State have been sentenced to death, and more Liao people will enter the Song State to cut wood, which means that now Lao Xiao does not want to lose face, as long as the inside." It means that he doesn't want to explain to the people in the country, but wants to hold back a big news. So it was both a response and a desperate need for wood. ”

"Why is the Liao country in urgent need of wood?" Zhao Zongshi was stunned.

Wang Yan said lightly: "First, the economic development has become more and more scarce and the price is getting higher and higher. And the Liao State didn't need it earlier, so it was cut off as a burden. If you want it now, the price is too high. Therefore, I think that the warships combined with the Jurchen pirates were provided by the Liao State, and now Lao Xiao urgently needs wood to build warships to deal with the new situation in the Bohai Sea and the Yellow Sea. ”

In this way, Zhao Zongshi really felt that there was a problem.

Now that the price of timber is indeed high, Liaoguo is really like "don't lose face and want to be inside" behavior. The so-called plan to bite people is not called, so this really looks like what Liao is planning, maybe it's really a big move.

Is it any wonder that the Great Demon King had seen this earlier, and chose to surrender to the weak, but went to smack the Liao State in the mouth?

Despite thinking so, after all, after being at peace with the Liao State for so long, Zhao Zongshi still can't believe that when the binding is so deep and they don't respond to the Suzhou Port incident, there will be a national war like this?

So even if Zhao Zongshi was a little worried, he was limited, and asked in a very practical manner: "Then ask the minister, how to respond to the specific problems on the border now?" ”

Wang Yan hesitated and sighed: "Everyone has their own governing style. If I were to change it, I wouldn't go crazy to the fishermen like Zhao Zi, but when it comes to this kind of practical problem, I can't compromise, I must catch it and lock it up, and catch as many as I want. Regardless of whether they were Liao soldiers or Liao people, they were arrested for destroying the water and soil environment of the Song State and stealing high-value strategic materials, and asked their families or the government to pay fines and ransom them, until he could not stand it and was not prepared to start a war. ”

Zhao Zongshi almost squirted out a mouthful of tea.

In other words, this is indeed the style of the Great Demon King. He won't use the army to easily intimidate the people, but he won't be soft when he really needs to use it. This seems to be the legendary strong demeanor, daring to smoke the mouth of the Liao State but daring to compromise with the Jiaozhi monkey with fame, now it is really the demeanor of a strong man.

It's a pity that Zhao Zongshi feels embarrassed. One wrong step makes it difficult to correct it later.

Only then did Zhao Zi be removed from his post and investigated for overkill, and now the officers and soldiers of Xiongzhou are trembling for this matter and have entered a state of not doing well. Even if the Great Song Dynasty issued an order to arrest people, they would not be able to catch it if they had more experience, and no officers and soldiers would dare to enforce the law anymore, and they would not contribute to the work, and even notify the friendly troops of the Liao State in advance before dispatching, saying, "You run quickly, because we are about to come, otherwise everyone will be embarrassed, and you will come back when we leave."

Unfortunately, Zhao Zongshi has no other experience but has rich experience at the grassroots level, and Zhao Zongshi is very sure that in some small illegal incidents in the capital, the poor people and gangs probably operate in this way. Bao Zheng is indeed a Qing official, but the people below Bao Zheng are not, when Bao Zheng orders to arrest someone, those poor people operate like this most of the time.

So now it is really difficult, this is the first time that Zhao Zongshi has experienced the difficulty of formulating policies, and many times it is not a problem of the policy itself, but a problem of the degree of implementation.

When it comes to execution, the entire Great Song Demon King is unsurpassed. But this is facing the conflict between him and Han Qi, Han Qi will not let him out at this time, Han Qi has always said "Let the calf face the wall calmly and calmly, think clearly before coming out to do things, without him turning like a big song".

So he could only sigh, Zhao Zongshi couldn't solve these problems, so he had to say goodbye and leave.

Fortunately, no matter what, I also heard the interpretation of the Great Demon King: the logging incident is not a face, it is the lining of the Liao Kingdom. They would use the timber to make warships to supply the Jurchens, causing more and more attacks on the merchant ships of the Great Song Industrial Division, and continuing to slow down the construction of the Nagasaki base.

Based on this theory, it didn't matter what Han Qi did, as long as he didn't let the enemy succeed easily. The rest of the people can't be controlled, so they can only continue to wait and see......