Xiongzhou official, Ma Huaide said to Zhang Qi: "The Privy Council sent a letter ordering me to negotiate with the Khitan, because of the Khitan invasion in the south, all the two losing households under his rule will not pay Khitan taxes in the future, and will not accept the Khitan service. This matter is not small, the Khitan must be angry, you should pay attention to the border. ”

Zhang Qi said: "The two losers are only a few thousand, how much tax can they pay in a year?" In my opinion, the Khitan may not value it very much, but it is just a bargain for this dynasty based on this matter. After this defeat, now that Youzhou is empty, how dare they disobey? ”

Ma Huaide shook his head with a smile: "Taiwei, in your opinion, this is a trivial matter, and the Khitans don't see it that way." Since the end of the coin, the price of silk in the Khitan has more than tripled. Now the price of a silk horse in this dynasty will increase fivefold when it arrives in Khitan. Think about it, thousands of taels of losers in Xiongzhou, how much silk do they have to pay in a year? The price has increased fivefold, how much is that? Not a small amount! ”

Zhang Qi was taken aback, and then realized that he was wrong. The thousands of taels of losers in Xiongzhou, in terms of large household registration, are indeed not much, and they were not big states in the Song Dynasty. But once the price rises fivefold, this number is not small, equivalent to a large state.

When the Song Dynasty gave the Khitan coin, the price of Khitan silk was twice that of the Song Dynasty. After the battle of Tanglong Town, the Song Dynasty stopped the New Year's coin, and the price of Khitan silk skyrocketed. The surrounding forces of the Song Dynasty were very fond of silk. As soon as it came out of the Song Realm, the price of silk doubled and rose. Xiongzhou is not a big place, but it is a place where silk is produced. It was nothing in the Song Dynasty, but it was very important in the Khitan.

Thinking about this section, Zhang Qi said: "In this way, the two losers are not allowed to give to the Khitan, which has a great impact on the Khitan?" ”

Ma Huaide nodded: "Not bad." Under the rule of Youzhou, not to mention the Khitan, grain production is still secondary, and the most important thing is silk production. Stopping in one place, the Khitan will be greatly affected. So, in my estimation, it is difficult for the Khitan to agree. ”

Zhang Yu said: "Didn't the Privy Council say that the field in Xiongzhou is still open, and the Khitan can exchange horses and sheep." ”

Ma Huaide said with a smile: "How many cattle and sheep do the Khitans have to sell in exchange for these thousands of silk?" This is easier said than done. Hebei Road is different from Hedong Road, where silk is produced, which is particularly important to the Khitan. ”

Zhang Qi nodded, and after a silent calculation in his heart, he understood what Ma Huaide meant. It is not easy for officials who are not specific officials to pay attention to these details. Hedong Road seized Shuozhou, and the Khitan did not hold on. Because for the Khitan, the loss of Shuozhou only allowed the Song Dynasty to cross Yanmen Mountain, and it was easy to attack Datong Mansion. The Khitan was not good at defending the city, and there was nothing. However, the loss of the two losers in Xiongzhou will lose the tax of thousands of horses of silk a year, and the impact on the Khitan will be great.

Ma Huaide tapped the table and said, "It seems that the Privy Council didn't think of this section either, thinking that these two losers were not so important to the Khitan. If not, it wouldn't be so hasty. Thousands of silk silks a year are not a small amount in Khitan. This time their financial resources were cut off, where is the Khitan so easy to talk to! After getting the Wen, the Khitan people had to jump up in anger! ”

After speaking, Ma Huaide laughed,

Zhang Qi said: "Zhizhou, if the Khitan people refuse, isn't your document gray-haired?" ”

Ma Huaide said: "How can it be gray hair? This time, the captain fought well, and the Khitans were afraid that they would not dare to refuse. Youzhou has a total of less than 50,000 soldiers and horses, and 10,000 have been lost, and there are loopholes everywhere. I'm afraid that the Khitan at this time is carefully guarding against this dynasty! ”

Zhang Qi thought about it and thought it was funny. Before the Khitans went south, they certainly did not think about the consequences of defeat. Until now, I'm afraid I'm stunned from top to bottom. The 10,000 soldiers and horses were all wiped out, and the Song Dynasty had to cancel the two losses of the people under its rule.

The silk silk handed over to the Khitan by Xiongzhou was about 6,000 horses a year, which was not a large number in the Song Dynasty. But in the Khitan, the price skyrocketed more than five times, equivalent to tens of thousands of horses in the Song Dynasty, which is not a small amount. Moreover, the production of Khitan silk silk is limited, and it is very popular from officials to the people, and there are so many of them all at once, how can they be willing to give up?

Ma Huaide stood up, paced a few steps and said: "The battle in Xiongzhou will have many impacts in the future. The lieutenant must not be slack, and strictly order his subordinates to guard the border to prevent the Khitan people and dogs from jumping over the wall. My subordinate soldiers and horses will go to the military academy for training after the Chinese New Year, and they should not be of great use. ”

Zhang Qi said: "Zhizhou can rest assured. I have 50,000 soldiers and horses, even if all the Khitans in Youzhou go south, they will not be able to return! ”

Ma Huaide nodded, and carefully discussed with Zhang Qi the defense of various places under Xiongzhou's rule.

At the waterside of Nanyi, Meng Xuexue packed up and said to his wife at home: "The station in the north is in a hurry, and the Chinese New Year still doesn't stop." I heard that the daily payment is 150 yuan, but this kind of work is not easy to encounter. Together with a few fellow villagers, I went there to work, and you were tired at home. ”

The wife coaxed the child and said yes. Their house is very simple, the house is unusually cold, and the winter is really hard. But as long as you survive this winter, everything will be fine in the coming year, and people are not pessimistic.

At this moment, Wei Xin came in from outside and said to Meng Xuexue, "Has Xuexue cleaned up?" We took advantage of the early days and were on our way. ”

Meng Xue said: "It's still early, so I made an appointment with two people from the neighboring village to gather here and go together." Brothers, sit down, sip tea, gossip, and wait for them. ”

When his wife served tea, Meng Xuexue sat opposite Wei Xin and gossiped some gossip. After talking for a while, I talked about the war a few days ago.

Wei Xin said: "That day, I heard the people who withdrew from the station say that a large number of Khitan soldiers and horses entered the country and came straight towards us, and they were really frightened. We people, the Khitan must hate it very much, if they are caught back, where will there be good fruit to eat? ”

Meng Xuezhu sighed: "Yes, who was not afraid at that time?" Although I saw soldiers and horses passing by, so many people at the station were evacuated, and I still panicked. Fortunately, the Song army was really able to fight, and even let 10,000 Khitan cavalry wipe out the whole army! ”

"Yes, yes, who would have thought that Song Jun would be so capable of fighting!" Wei Xin was a little excited when he heard this. "For many years, the Khitan has been crisscrossing Hebei Road, but I didn't expect that this time, none of them went back!"

Meng Xuezhi said: "Nature is different. You haven't seen the current Song army, with guns and cannons, the Khitans can't get close at all. I think that after that, the Khitans are no longer the opponents of the Song Dynasty. Those of us who live here can live in peace, and we don't have to worry about the Khitans harassing us anymore. ”

Speaking of this, Wei Xin said: "By the way, pedant, I have heard people say in the past few days that the imperial court has opened a military school or something in Hejian Mansion in the south. As long as they can read and write, ordinary people can also apply for the exam, and they can become officials after learning. My brother is literate, and he used to just open a private school in the village to enlighten children, what can he do? If you go to a military academy and really complete your studies, you may have some future. ”

Meng Xuezhu smiled and shook his head: "We are people from the north, and it is already a rare blessing to be able to be taken in by the imperial court. What is an official, where do you dare to think about that? I just hope that the days of working like the station will be more and make more money in the future. ”

Wei Xin shook his head when he heard this: "Brother, that's not what you said. Even the government also said that we are the people of the court, and it is not the same as those two losers. My brother is literate, so maybe he can get in. As long as the government takes it in, what can others say! ”