In the Privy Council, Du Zhongxiao and Tian Guo sat in the center. On one side sat Fu Bi and Ouyang Xiu, and on the other side sat Zhao Zi and Zhang Maoshi.

After the ceremony, Du Zhongxiao said: "I summoned the two of you here today to discuss how to negotiate with the Khitan envoys. Liu Jiyan said that Ma Huaide went to the Khitan as a pacification envoy on Hebei Road, and went to the text several times, but there has been no response until now. And it is rumored that in the Khitan territory, people are being assassinated as soldiers. It seems that the Khitans do not intend to admit defeat, but want to recruit troops to confront this dynasty. ”

Ouyang Xiu said: "Ten thousand soldiers came, but in one day, there was no one left. With such a result, the Khitans still don't admit defeat? ”

Du Zhongxiao shook his head: "Don't forget, since the founding of the Khitan country, one hundred and fifty years now, there has never been a major defeat in the outside world. Especially for the Khitan against the Central Plains, the offense may be insufficient, and the defense is more than enough. From experience, the Khitan has an absolute advantage, how can it admit defeat? The first battle of Tanglongzhen happened to kill the lord of the country in a battle, and then the two emperors contended, and the Khitans did not think that they were defeated. ”

Fu Bi said: "The Khitan army has been invincible for too long, and I can't accept defeat no matter what." Even if you lose, you have to bow your head and admit defeat. Do you remember the battle between the Khitan and the party? After several crusades, the Khitan couldn't take much advantage, but in the end, the party admitted his mistake, and the two countries finally eased up. Now for this dynasty, it is not easy to make them bow their heads and admit their mistakes. ”

Zhao Zi said: "What is the combat power, after all, it must be fought on the battlefield." If they don't defeat the Khitan and lose it, they won't bow their heads. It's just that this dynasty has won consecutive battles in recent years, and in the case of a big victory in Xiongzhou, it can't bow its head. How to talk to the Khitan is up to the two of you. ”

Zhang Maoshi said: "The two officials were ordered to entertain the Khitan envoys, how to talk, and ask the captains to show them." ”

Tian Guo said: "It is you who go to see the Khitan envoys, what kind of temperament and attitude they have, you are the ones who know best." Of course, I have to ask your opinions and understand what it looks like to meet before we can get things done. ”

The Song Dynasty and the Khitan each sent envoys to each other, both of which were both literate and martial. Moreover, in general, the Khitan is to send a Khitan warrior to cooperate with a Han humanitarian. The difference is that in the Song Dynasty, civil officials were the envoys, while the Khitan was the military attachés. The envoys of the two sides met, and if there was no important matter to discuss, the military generals accompanied the military generals, and the civil officials accompanied the civil officials, and they were also happy.

Zhang Maoshi is the son of Zhao Zhen's maternal brother who died early, and when his mother entered the palace, Emperor Zhenzong handed him over to his chamberlain Zhang Jingzong to raise, and he was Zhang Jingzong's adopted son. Zhenzong and Zhao Zhen have taken special care of Zhang Maoshi and have always been high-ranking officials. There are rumors among the people that Zhang Maoshi is the illegitimate son of Zhenzong. When Zhao Zhen was in power, there were many rumors of such illegitimate children, and they were no longer strange.

According to convention, the military generals and deputy envoys of the Song Dynasty accompanied the Khitan envoys to eat, drink and have fun, and generally did not participate in national affairs. Therefore, in Zhang Maoshi's eyes, if the Privy Council has anything to say, it is directly explained, and there is no need to call his Ouyang Xiu to discuss.

Ouyang Xiu said: "The Khitan deputy envoy who came this time is Yao Jingxing, a scholar from Hanlin, who was originally born as a Jinshi and is generous, but he is not a difficult person to speak. It's just that it is making it extremely difficult for Yelu Yixin to speak, and he can't talk about it together after meeting several times. ”

Du Zhongxiao nodded: "It seems that the Khitan Chaoli also has the same opinion as Yelu Yixin." In this way, you still accompany the normal envoys, and if you really can't talk about it, then don't talk about it. Wait until the last dynasty, so that they do not involve the battle of Xiongzhou. Negotiate with the Khitan and hand it over to Ma Huaide in Xiongzhou. The battle was fought there, so let the officials of Hebei Road talk about it. ”

The pacification envoys of the Song Dynasty along the border resolved the border conflict with the Khitan, and the Khitan had a reciprocal yamen. Hebei Road is divided into four military roads, so there is a separate pacification envoy to negotiate with the Khitan. Xiongzhou is on the two post roads, and the pacification envoy has always been served by Zhizhou.

Tian said: "Harmony is precious, when you meet with the Khitan envoys, don't be aggressive. Some words can be said by them, as long as they do not hurt the prestige of the court, do not try to speak quickly. ”

Ouyang Xiu said: "Tai Lieutenant, this time it was the Khitan defeat, and the 10,000 soldiers and horses were wiped out. But I don't want that Yelu Yixin, who keeps spitting out evil words when they meet, as if they have just won a big victory. If you just accompany them to relieve their boredom, I'm afraid it won't be easy. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "If the Khitans don't let go in the battle of Xiongzhou, then you and the Khitan envoys will not have anything to talk about." Without getting down to business, what's the dispute? If the Khitan envoys talk about this battle, you just bypass the topic. It seems that this matter can't be good, so let's wait and see what happens. ”

Ouyang Xiu and Zhang Maoshi said yes together. The topic does not involve the first battle of Xiongzhou, so there is only food and drink, which is much easier.

Du Zhongxiao said again: "Also, it is strictly forbidden for Khitan envoys to leave the capital pavilion!" As long as you go out, you must have the permission of the court. Including the servants brought by the Khitan envoys, they must also send special personnel to follow them, and they are not allowed to move around casually and do not buy forbidden things. Remember! ”

Ouyang Xiu arched his hand: "What the Taiwei ordered is that the lower official remembers." ”

After chatting for a while, and confirming that the two envoys who came with him had nothing to talk about, Ouyang Xiu and Zhang Maoshi took their leave and left.

The two left, and Tian Guo said to Du Zhongxiao: "Now it seems that the Khitan is not ready to bow its head, how should the Xiongzhou matter be handled?" ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "Xiongzhou has been ordered, and the two losers under the rule will no longer serve in the Khitan Nafu from now on, and it will be up to the Khitan people to respond." Speaking of which, the Khitans lost on the battlefield and couldn't get it back for a while, so they just wanted us to give them some benefits. ”

Tian said: "If you just give some good, this matter will pass, you might as well give it a try." ”

Du Zhongxiao shook his head: "How can there be a reason in the world to apologize if you win a war?" The party will be like this because the small country and the people have won once or twice, and it will not prevent the Khitans from attacking again next year. The two countries are at war, the Khitan has been defeated ten times, and the party has lost once, and the country may be destroyed. Is this the case in this dynasty? The Khitan came south after the fall of the country, and it was nothing more than another fight. ”

Fu Bi said: "Since a few years ago, Taiwei Du saved Tanglong Town, and the imperial court has not been defeated in the past few years. At this time, morale was at its peak, and if it bowed to the Khitan, it would inevitably affect the morale of the army. This time it has been a big victory, and it is even more necessary to be tough on the Khitan to the end. ”

Tian Guo was silent for a while, and after a while, he shook his head and sighed. Since Du Zhongxiao opened up the Hequ Road, how many battles have the Song Dynasty fought over the years? Many ministers of the DPRK and China feel that there is too much war and that it should be eased for a few years. However, every time there was a war, it was a great victory for the Song Dynasty, and the morale of the main battle faction was getting stronger and stronger, and if they wanted to ease, there was no courtiers to support them at all. The situation of the field is like this, and I don't want to fight anymore.

When Yuan Hao rebelled against the Song Dynasty, Xia Zhu was appointed as the envoy of the Shaanxi Road Passage, and he was appointed as a judge. Since then, Tian has been in the northwest and has participated in many years of war against the party. In that war, the Song Dynasty used all its strength, but it still couldn't help the party. Later, Fan Zhongyan and Han Qi went to the northwest and took many measures, but they only made the party dare not attack. Tian was in the middle of it, and he was against the war from the bottom of his heart. Once he wins, he wants to use the victory to negotiate with the enemy as soon as possible, and it is already good to have a good condition.

Du Zhongxiao is different, he brought his own troops to save Tanglong Town, how many battles did he win? defeated the Khitan, defeated the party, and has been recovering the Western Regions, without a single defeat. Now that he is in charge of the Privy Council, he wants to restore Yanyun and even achieve a greater victory. This time in Xiongzhou, he tried his skills in a small way, but the Khitan was defeated. This is the time to expand the results of the war, how can you surrender your identity and make peace with the Khitan? If the Khitan did not pay a huge price, there would be no peace talks at all. As for fighting for peace to set aside time for the training of the forbidden army, Du Zhongxiao preferred to train in the war with the Khitan, saving a lot of trouble.

The war has begun, and it was caused by the Khitans, how can it end so easily? The means of the Khitans are nothing more than the threat of war, and the current Song Dynasty is no longer afraid of war.