Just now, Li Buqi was in a hurry, and his voice was a little loud when he said, "Absolutely not". Zhao Zhen, who was walking over, raised his hand to stop Chen Lin's action of shouting "Your Majesty has arrived", and after standing down, he heard Li Buqi say that the Liao people were bluffing before he opened his mouth to ask.

Zhang Yonghe, Li Buqi and others hurriedly saluted the emperor, and Zhao Zhen asked Li Buqi again: "How do you conclude that the Liao people's assembly of troops in Hebei is a bluff?" ”

This was a rare opportunity to show the emperor his ability, and Li Buqi remembered that the Liao and Song dynasties had never fought from the alliance of the Yuan Dynasty to the death of Song Renzong, so he confidently cleared his throat and said: "Your Majesty, the minister thinks that the Liao people are robbers and jackals. They won't do things that are more dangerous than good.

The minister heard that there were many tribes in Liao, and the relatively large tribes were not only the Khitan, but also the Bohai, Jurchen, and the divination, and the Liao Emperor led the army to patrol the country within a year in order to deter the tribes outside the Khitan. This is like the Tang Dynasty's domain, if the imperial army can deter the domain, then the domain will be used by the emperor; If the imperial army is not enough to deter the feudal town, the feudal town will inevitably be in rebellion. Before this matter, Tang Yinjian was not far away.

If the Liao emperor did not want to cause great chaos in the country, he could not let the army under his control suffer big losses. The first battle of Jingde has made the Liao people understand that although it is difficult for my Great Song Dynasty to capture Youyan, there is no problem in holding Hebei, as long as my Great Song Dynasty is ready, how dare the Liao Emperor take his elite for nothing?

The minister heard from an old man who traveled that the Liao State would kill some Jurchens every year to prevent the Jurchens from causing rebellion, and they would levy a large number of cattle and sheep from Zhubu. This is a blood feud. Once the elite in the hands of the Liao emperor is gone, the Jurchen and Zhubu tribes will kill the Khitans in turn. The Liao people would not have been unaware of this.

And the summer thief is also an existence that cannot be ignored. The Xia thief is also a robber, so the kid guesses that if my Great Song Dynasty and the Liao Kingdom fight, the Xia thief will inevitably attack the easiest side to attack, so that it is more labor-saving for the Xia thief, and my Great Song Dynasty has a deep ditch and high base in Shaanxi. The kid can think that so many people in Liao Kingdom will not be unexpected, and it is strange not to beware of Xia thieves.

Therefore, the minister speculated that the Liao people gathered a large army on the Hebei side, one was to see that the imperial court was defeated by the Xia thieves, and wanted to call me the Jin Liang of the Great Song Dynasty, and the other was to take the opportunity to extort some money. ”

Zhao Zhen originally just asked casually, but he didn't expect Li Buqi to say so much, and he couldn't help but look at Li Buqi with admiration, and asked: "Then how do you say the imperial court should deal with this matter?" ”

Li Buqi said: "The minister thought that in order to avoid future troubles, he must show toughness to the Liao State. ”

Zhao Zhen asked: "You said that it was to avoid future troubles, but I don't know what the future troubles are?" ”

"This is the usual skill of the gangsters on the street, as long as you succeed in blackmailing once, you know that the person can be blackmailed, and he will definitely blackmail him in the future."

"Oh, so?" Zhao Zhen asked again: "But what if you are tough on the Liao State and cause a big war?" ”

Li Buqi did not answer this question directly, but said, "Your Majesty, please listen to the ministers first, tell me how wolves hunt." ”

"Oh? You said. ”

The old man said that although the northern Hulu was ugly, he was very studious. It's just that they didn't learn the words of the sages, but learned the ability to survive from the beasts. Therefore, if you want to understand Hulu, you must know this article. Both the Khitan and the earlier Turks and Xiongnu worshipped eagles and wolves. The eagle does not talk about it, but only that this wolf is a common beast there, and it is extremely intelligent, and the Hu people often learn the method of wolf hunting when they see it too much.

Among the prey of wolves are horses and cattle. Although these large prey do not have the claws of prey, they are not defenseless. Wolves are often killed by the horns of cattle and sheep, and their ribs or legs are broken by horses. As long as the wolf is injured, it is inevitable to die, so the wolf never pounces on it all at once when hunting, but first looks around the prey for a period of time to see if the prey is strong. If the prey is strong and has the potential to cause harm to the wolf, the wolf will not kill the prey immediately. But if they perceive that their prey is old or weak, they will not hesitate to pounce on it and bite it to death. ”

The audience, including Zhao Zhen, gasped: "Is the wolf so smart? ”

"Yes. The shepherd over there can see if there are any wolves following the sheep and know if their sheep are sick. Because the wolves will follow the flock, sniff the flock, and know if there are any sick sheep in the flock. If there is a sick sheep, the wolves will always follow, waiting to eat the sick sheep. If there are no sick sheep, the wolves will leave, but they will not attack the stronger ones. ”

Zhao Zhen asked, "What if there is no sick prey and the wolves are very hungry?" ”

"At this time, wolves often do not directly kill the prey that will harm them, but constantly circle around the prey, constantly intimidating the prey, so that the prey is terrified all day long, and has to run non-stop. The wolves follow their prey until the prey panics and is exhausted, and then pounces and bites. At this time, the prey no longer has the strength to inflict damage on the wolf. ”

Zhang Yonghe heard this and said: "Official, if Li Zhizhao is not bad, then the Liao people's method of fighting must have been learned from wolves!" ”

Zhao Zhen hurriedly asked, "What do you say?" ”

Zhang Yonghe said: "I heard from the veteran who fought with the Liao people that as long as my Great Song side is lined up in a strong formation, the Liao army will generally avoid it without fighting, and it is not ashamed to retreat." But if our army is not in line with the formation and is weak, the Liao people will flock to it. This bullying is really the same as a wolf. ”

Zhao Zhen remembered that there was also such a statement in the recital he saw, so he nodded and said, "That's really the case." Then he turned to Li Buqi and asked, "Then how do you say you should be tough on the Liao?" ”

In order to show his erudition, Li Buqi did not answer directly, but said: "Your Majesty, have you ever noticed that chickens and dogs will stand up the hair on their necks before fighting?" Do some dogs bark loudly? ”

Cockfighting and lackeys are a common entertainment activity in the Great Song Dynasty, and there are officials in the palace who specialize in dog fighting, and Zhao Zhen is also a frequent dog fighter, so he naturally knows. After he nodded, Li Buqi continued: "This is actually to make yourself look bigger, hoping to scare off your opponents. As for barking, it is also an opportunity to let the opponent know that he is strong, and at the same time take the opportunity to show his fangs and tell the opponent that it has the ability to inflict damage on the opponent. This is a means of being tough against tough, and surrendering without a fight. ”

Zhao Zhen thought that he understood what Li Buqi meant: "You mean that now the Liao people are bluffing, and my Great Song Dynasty is also responding with a bluff." Isn't that so? ”

Li Buqi said: "People are always smarter than beasts, and it is easy for people to see through complete bluffing. If the confrontation between the two countries drags on for a long time, it will be detrimental to our Great Song Dynasty if it suddenly consumes money and food. Therefore, the minister thinks that what my Great Song wants to do is not to bluff, but to show the determination to fight to the death! In this way, the Liao people will worry that both sides will lose and the future will be endless. ”

Zhao Zhen asked: "Then how to show the determination to fight to the death?" ”