In the southern city of Lanzhou, the ministers of civil and military affairs gathered together and carried out a verbal and written attack on Ling Kun without leaving a face (qíng). Seeing that the emperor was about to kill the Empress Dowager Xiao with his own hands, why did he suddenly stop? As soon as Empress Dowager Xiao died, the Liao army was a plate of scattered sand. A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, I was buried by your own hands.

Zhao Heng also felt very regretful, and sighed: "Ling (ài) Qing, why did you stop, what do you have in mind?" ”

In fact, Ling Kun didn't have any good ideas, but he didn't want to confront Xiao Ran head-on. At this moment, the emperor asked, he made a mistake for a while, to be honest, it was impossible, the Song Dynasty would eat him alive, so he rubbed his hands and pretended to say: "The minister thinks that it is the best policy to negotiate peace with the Liao State at this moment." ”

"What, now make peace?" Zhao Heng asked in surprise.

"put(pì)-nonsense-" Kou Zhun was furious, jumped out and pointed at Ling Kun and scolded: "Ling Kun, the emperor invited you back thousands of miles away to ask you to fight, not to negotiate peace, to negotiate peace, we have already discussed, do we still need you?" I really saw the wrong person. ”

"That's right, I have an advantage, and I will be able to completely wipe out the Liao army without accident, at this time to negotiate peace, I don't know what the general's intentions are?" Gao Qiong also shouted angrily.

Indeed, at this time, even Chen Yaosu and others, who have always advocated peace, are a little puzzled.

However, when Ling Kun reached this point, he could only bite the bullet and go down. So he raised his head and said loudly: "Your Majesty, my lords, the so-called killing of 1,000 enemies and self-loss of 800, the army of the Liao State is on par with us, if we have to exterminate the Liao State here, it can only turn the 400,000 Liao army (bī) into mad dogs." At that time, even if we attack from both sides and annihilate all the Liao army, have you ever thought about how many people we can leave behind at that time? ”

Kou Zhun said angrily: "So what, when you go into battle, you should defend the country and kill the enemy, even if you are a horse leather shroud, how have you ever seen a general like you who is greedy for life and afraid of death?" ”

"Lord Kou, even if I am wrapped in Lingkun Ma Ge, the front-line soldiers will also die with the Liao State as you wish, so may I ask, the strength of the imperial court has dropped sharply, if someone takes the opportunity to rebel at this time, or the border foreign tribes take the opportunity to rebel, can Lord Kou share the emperor's worries?" Ling Kun retorted unceremoniously.

"You-" Kou Zhun was speechless for a moment, and said angrily, "You are talking nonsense. ”

Zhao Heng's heart moved when he heard Ling Kun's words, and he hesitated: "What Ling (ài) Qing said is not unreasonable, and we can't fight for the Liao State. ”

As soon as Zhao Heng said this, Chen Yaosu immediately echoed: "The emperor Shengming, the Khitan barbarians, just give some benefits and send them away, there is no need to hurt the vitality of the Great Song Dynasty." ”

As a result, there was a lot of discussion in the court for a while, and after a while, it was divided into two distinct factions, one faction was the main battle faction headed by Kou Zhun, and the other faction was the main peace faction headed by Chen Yaosuo.

Kou Zhun and Chen Yaosu defended a few words, and shouted at Zhao Heng: "Your Majesty, since ancient times, the main battle has been loyal ministers, and the lord and the lord are all (jiān) ministers, please live Mingjian, don't be mistaken by (jiān) people." ”

When Ling Kun heard this, his face couldn't help but feel (rè), according to this statement, he was a standard (jiān) minister. And Kou Zhun seems to be right, throughout Chinese history, for whatever reason, almost all of the lords and ministers have been named (jiān) ministers by history.

Zhao Heng frowned and said, "Kou (ài) Qing, you are the one who wants to invite Ling Kun back, why don't you listen to his opinion now?" ”

Kou Zhun said angrily: "The minister invited him back to fight, eliminate the Khitan, and never suffer in the future, not to compromise and seek perfection." ”

Zhao Heng was in a dilemma, he didn't know how to make a decision, he also hoped to establish an immortal feat, surpassing Emperor Qin, Han Wu, Tang Taizong, but he was afraid that the jade would be burned, and in the end he couldn't even save his life.

Seeing Zhao Heng hesitating, Kou Zhun knew that he was unreliable, so he knelt in front of Zhao Mingyue next to him: "Eldest princess, you say something, if you don't take the opportunity to destroy the Liao State at this moment, will there be such a good opportunity in the future?" He knew that the Zhao Song Dynasty, regardless of gender, had Zhao Mingyue as the leader in the talent pattern, so he pinned all his hopes on her (shēn).

Zhao Mingyue couldn't help but look at Ling Kun, others didn't know why Ling Kun was in charge, but she was clear. With her relationship with Xiao Ran, she doesn't want to face each other head-on like this. But in the face of the country's righteousness, it seems that there is something wrong with thinking about these private (qíng).

So, she was also a little hesitant and couldn't speak for a long time.

Zhao Heng couldn't make up his mind, and he also wanted to hear what Zhao Mingyue meant, so he also asked, "Mingyue, what do you think?" ”

"I-" Zhao Mingyue hesitated for a moment, and finally said: "I also advocate peace, but we are currently in an advantageous position, and we can completely control the initiative in peace." ”

Zhao Heng nodded, and asked Li Jilong again: "Uncle, what do you think?" ”

Li Jilong said in a deep voice: "As far as the current situation is concerned, it is necessary to negotiate peace after all, otherwise it will really burn all the jade and stones, and it will not be beneficial to anyone, but who will propose peace first and how to negotiate peace is a problem." ”

Zhao Heng hurriedly said: "Yes, Ling (ài) Qing, we first propose peace, can we still grasp the initiative?" ”

"Your Majesty, whoever holds the initiative has nothing to do with who makes the peace first. Whoever wins on the battlefield will have the initiative in negotiations. Therefore, we have to fight and fight, and we must also fight, and fighting is the means and the end. ”

Zhao Heng stroked his palms and said: "Well said, peace is the goal, if you continue to fight like this, it will not be good for the court or the people, and it is a very good thing for the Khitan to retreat in the face of difficulties." ”

Kou Zhun saw that the emperor's heart for peace had been decided, and he couldn't stop it, but he was still unwilling, and shouted: "It's okay for the emperor to negotiate peace, but the Khitans must be allowed to withdraw from Youyun, this is the bottom line of peace, otherwise, the Khitans can attack at any time, this is an undeniable consensus for many years." ”

"Yes, if the Khitans don't withdraw from Youyun, the ministers will die by the Yellow River." Gao Qiong and other main battle factions knelt on the ground to petition.

Zhao Heng thought for a while and said: "Everyone, please get up, you are right, if Youyun can come back, the trouble of the Khitan can be eliminated forever, on the contrary, our Great Song Dynasty is still in danger at any time." Therefore, in this peace, I have only one principle, as long as the Khitan withdraws from Youyun, everything else can be discussed. ”

"Long live my emperor, the emperor is sage."

Zhao Heng's statement made everyone very satisfied, and after everyone sang their praises, the Privy Council sent a small official, Cao Yong, to negotiate peace. Although Cao's official position is small, he is honest and brave, and he will not discount the conditions of the imperial court.

In addition, sending a petty official to negotiate peace also shows the confidence of the people of the Song Dynasty, if you are willing to talk, you can talk, if you don't want us, we will still fight.

At the same time, Ling Kun and Li Jilong began a new round of strategic deployment, preparing to build momentum for the negotiations.