"Your Great Song Dynasty is going to use troops against Liao again, and I want the Western Dynasty to send troops as well, this is ......" Xi Feng Chang glared at Sun Tu, unable to believe his ears.

Just as he was about to leave for Western Xia, Sun Tu actually found him again and added such a terrifying request to those harsh conditions. It's only been a few years of work, and the Great Song Dynasty is actually going to use troops against Liao again, hasn't his court just started a mess, so he is not afraid of reckless military force and hurting himself?

Sun Tu looked at each other indifferently: "Is there anything wrong with this?" Since you, Xixia, are willing to respect me as the Lord of the Great Song Dynasty, isn't our enemy your enemy, and it is not a matter of course to send troops to assist and attack the Liao State together? ”

The fine seal was often entangled for a while, and it really couldn't be said that there was a problem with Sun Tu's rhetoric, after all, as a subject country, when the suzerainty gave an order, it really couldn't be shirked, otherwise people might turn around and beat you, and even the reasons were ready-made and legitimate. But even so, he still persuaded: "But the Great Song Dynasty only fought a series of battles two years ago, and also recaptured the entire territory of the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun that he longed for, so there is really no reason to use troops against Liao again." What's more, there was such a rebellion in Bianjing City before, shouldn't you choose to rest with the people and stabilize the current situation? ”

"The situation in the DPRK has never been stabilized, but defeated." Sun Tu immediately retorted: "Only by completely conquering the Liao Kingdom can the people of the world know how different my Sun Tu is from those guys who only know rhetoric before." As for the matter of Liao, my Great Song Dynasty has always had a deep enmity with Liao, even if it has now recaptured the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun, it does not mean that the original hatred will end here. On the contrary, the war two years ago has pushed the Song and Liao countries into an endless antagonistic position, and now his country has just undergone great changes in the war, and it is the weakest time. ”

Sun Tu's words had actually been said as early as the day before yesterday when he made up his mind and put it forward in the court. Originally, Tong Mu and the others were still worried about this decision, but after he listed this series of reasons, the people of the DPRK and China also accepted the decision to go on another Northern Expedition!

Yes, the current Liao State suffered heavy casualties due to the civil war between Yelu Dashi and Yelu Yanxi, the city was shattered, and the vitality was greatly damaged. However, the Song State is thriving, and places in the north Youzhou and other places have been strong for two years.

And more importantly, with the extermination of Li Gang, Song Jiang and other officials, the imperial court suddenly produced millions of extra money, which just made up for the last deficiency of the army. That's why Sun Tu dared to mention the Northern Expedition again, vowing to take advantage of his illness to kill him and completely destroy the Liao State!

Even Tong Mu and other Great Song courtiers were persuaded by Sun Tu, and it was naturally impossible for a Western Xia envoy to oppose Sun Tu's decision. After a long period of struggle, he finally nodded and agreed: "I will also report this matter to the court, but in the end, it will be decided by Your Majesty." ”

"It's the lord of the country." Sun Tu suddenly reminded him, which made Xi Fengchang feel awkward again, but he still nodded: "Yes, it will be decided by the lord of my family." ”

Sun Tu smiled at this time, but then stared at the other party and said: "But there is one thing you must remember to pass on the word, if you Xixia still remain neutral at both ends in the next Song Liao battle, in vain to profit from it, then my Great Song will use troops against you as soon as possible." I'm sure you've seen the power of the most commonly used bullets in my Great Song Dynasty today, but I don't know if your Iron Harriers and Infantry Elite soldiers can block such firearms with their flesh and blood. ”

"I ...... I made a note of it. When Xi Feng Chang thought of what he saw with his own eyes that day, the scene of a large section of the city wall being blown down with a bang, his heart was cold. If the Song army really used such weapons on the battlefield with its own military horses, I am afraid that the casualties of the Western Dynasty army would increase by more than ten times compared to the past. Coupled with the shortage of domestic resources in the Western Dynasties, I am afraid that it is not far from the destruction of the country.

Therefore, even if Sun Tu's threat is so direct, he can only admit it, and will do his best to persuade his own emperor, the lord of the country, to cooperate with the Song people to use troops against the army after returning to China.

"That's good, as the so-called person who knows the times is Junjie, I only hope that your party and clan have chosen a smart person to be your lord, otherwise ......" It was only then that Sun Tu got up satisfied, but when he arrived at the door, he suddenly said again: "Because I want to use troops against the Liao State, I will be quite busy in the next period of time, and I won't send you when you set off." In addition, on my behalf, he greeted Guru and told him that the people of the western lands are indispensable to the Dharma that he is promoting, so don't slack off. ”

It wasn't until a long time after Sun Tu left that Xi Feng Chang let out a long breath of turbid air, and felt the pressure on his body suddenly disappear. Seeing Sun Tu again this time, he felt that this old man in the past was becoming more and more strange, and the pressure on himself was getting bigger and bigger, which made him sigh again, he really shouldn't be the messenger of the Song Dynasty, and after returning to Xingqing Mansion, he didn't know how to explain to his father and His Majesty.

Because he was worried that Sun Tu would suddenly make more harsh demands, he did not dare to stay in Tokyo for a long time, and the next morning, he went to the imperial court, and after getting permission, he set off immediately.

And when he left, Sun Tu really did not come forward to send them off, as he said, and only sent officials from Honglu Temple to send them out of Tokyo on behalf of the imperial court. At this moment, Sun Tu devoted himself to the deployment of troops and the formulation of a strategy for the overall Northern Expedition.

Because the chaos had just been quelled in the DPRK and China, and the Liao State was now different from what it used to be, and its strength was very weak, Sun Tu finally accepted Tong Mu's persuasion, and did not rashly go north to lead the troops in person, but handed over the military power of this war to the hands of the generals of Seed Master Dao and Dong Ping.

Although Sun Tu was a little unaccustomed to this, he had to accept and try to get used to it. Because his current identity is very different from before, in a sense, he is the real master of this country, not an emperor but more like an emperor. In this way, Sun Tu can't always rush to the front line of the battlefield like before, staying in the capital and guarding the whole country is what he should do most.

Of course, no longer going to the front line easily does not mean that Sun Tu has nothing to do with the war at all. On the contrary, with the change of status, when the war resumes, his responsibilities are heavier, and his affairs become more and more busy. Because he wants to consider the overall situation and provide a more reliable and sufficient rear for the front-line soldiers, whether it is the supply of food and grass for the soldiers, or the replenishment of other baggage logistics, everything is also on the shoulders of Sun Tu, the person in power.

In the past, when Sun Tu led his troops to rush to the front line, he would not consider how trivial and difficult these logistics matters were, but today, when he really took over, he found that it was really complicated and difficult.

After all, this is a major campaign to conquer a country, and the resources required are a huge number, and it also needs to mobilize the strength of the whole country of the Great Song Dynasty to meet them, and the details and overall arrangements are much more difficult than ordinary troop arrangements or leading troops to rush and kill.

Even though the Great Song Dynasty had been preparing for this battle for two years, it still needed to transfer enough money, grain and other materials from the local government. If Cai Jing and others do these things, they will naturally not feel too difficult, because they will not care about the lives of the common people at all, and it doesn't matter if the grain in the local officials' warehouses is emptied at once, if it is not enough, then the taxes will be increased.

But Sun Tu can't do this, isn't the use of troops in the north to make the life of the people of the Great Song Dynasty better, how can he sacrifice his roots and chase the end? Therefore, even if it is to mobilize grain and grass from all over the country, it is necessary to leave a part of the grain for urgent use in the official warehouse, and then extract money and grain according to the rich and poor in each place and go north.

But even so, coupled with the money and food that had been confiscated from the prisoners early in the morning, it was still not enough to fill the gold-devouring beast composed of dozens of armies, and for this reason, the treasury was almost emptied by Sun Tu.

"It is said that the Great Song Dynasty is rich, better than the Han and Tang Dynasties, and far away from the Ming and Qing Dynasties, but why can't I see it at all?" Sun Tu muttered again after looking at the documents sent by the Ministry of Household Transfer in his hand and waiting for the yamen.

Tong Mu beside him didn't hear his words too clearly, but he still understood the confusion in his heart, so he smiled bitterly: "Wealth of the country does not mean that the court is also rich." What's more, as early as two years ago, after several major wars, the money and grain saved by the DPRK and China for many years had been spent, and it was only two years of work, so of course it was impossible to completely fill it. ”

Sun Tu nodded in understanding, and at the same time had a headache. In other words, as far as he knows, others can make money when they win battles, but why did they lose money when they came to their own place? For example, after the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun were defeated, they had to reach out to the imperial court almost every year for two or three years to ask for money and food, in order to raise horses and soldiers. And when it comes to sending troops, it is even more necessary for the whole country to contribute food and money...... Perhaps this is one of the important reasons why the Great Song Dynasty did not dare to start the war lightly in the past few decades, in addition to the fear that it would not be able to fight, it was too much money.

Fortunately, Tong Mu's last sentence gave him some confidence: "But the people, because of the prosperity of commerce and the recent reduction of taxes, there is really a lot of money and food, which is the real wealth of the country." ”

Sun Tu also laughed when he heard this: "Yes, isn't this exactly what you and I want to see?" Only when the people are rich can the whole country be strong. But now, because time is not yet a step away, and I am in dire need of wealth from this area, I intend to ......"

"Captain, don't go back to the old way of those people, and do the things of blackmailing the people and plundering the people's wealth." Tong Mu reminded a little eagerly.

Sun Tu shook his head: "How could I do such a thing?" I'm just going to borrow, in the name of the imperial court. ”