In the fourth year of Song Jing'an, Shaanxi ended in the mountains and rains and the wind was full of buildings. Externally, the Khitans rejected the Sichuan-Shaanxi Xuanfu Division's representations, and instead of returning Jinsu, they gathered heavy troops on the front line of Tiandu Mountain in the Song-Liao Hengshan Mountain, and at the same time set up military divisions in the Heqing and Jinsu areas where the Song, Jin, and Liao converged to strengthen defense. Its tough attitude has attracted the attention of many parties.

Internally, public discontent is rapidly accumulating. Due to the ban on border trade between the imperial court and the Sichuan-Shaanxi Xuanfu Division, the livelihood of the border people on both sides became a problem. The supply of tea cotton in the summer was interrupted, prices soared, and the price of salt in Shaanxi also changed day by day. Unscrupulous merchants hoarded salt and drove up prices, causing the people to scold. Affected by this, Shaanxi's fiscal revenue in Jing'an for four years has declined markedly, and in the coming year, it will be overstretched to supply only military spending.

Liu Guangshi still has a hand in annexing the army and cultivating power, but he obviously lacks the ability and experience to deal with such a crisis. Xu Cheng, the commander of Jingyuan, reported to him about the conflicts and hidden dangers on the border, and the instructions he gave were to quickly calm down the situation, arrest those who should be caught, and kill those who should be killed. As for the smuggling activities of the people, for the time being, do not strictly prohibit them, let them go, and when necessary, the government will turn a blind eye and close one eye.

Shaanxi lacked salt, and unscrupulous merchants drove up prices, leading to social unrest. He also had a headache and a sore foot, and ordered the yamen of all prefectures and counties to severely crack down on the illegal act of hoarding salt, and even did not hesitate to use heavy punishments. For the salt merchants who have a bad influence, they are punished with canes, migratory types, and even confiscated family property. However, the government's severe crackdown did not improve the situation of salt shortage in Shaanxi.

The common people waited for the salt to go to the pot, but the price of one pound of salt in the market was equal to the price of twenty pounds of meat. And you can buy it. Is it okay if you don't eat meat, but not salt? The official documents of the Shaanxi prefectures, prefectures, armies, and counties flew to the Xuanfu Division like snowflakes, making Liu Xuan's sentence one head and two big. The situation was urgent, and he flew to the imperial court to ask for intervention, and later, with the assistance of the imperial court, he quickly transferred the tribute salt that was supposed to be transported to Jiangnan from Fushun in Sichuan to Shaanxi for emergency relief. Fushun is the Fushun County of Zigong, Sichuan in later generations. Zigong is a famous salt-producing area in later generations, its well salt is well-known throughout the country, and at the peak of salt production, it was responsible for forty percent of the country's salt production tasks.

In the Song Dynasty, the output of sea salt was not high, and the quality was not good, mainly relying on well salt. In particular, the pond salt in Jiezhou, Hedong and the well salt in Fushun, Sichuan are the most. However, Hedong has been plagued by war, and its salt production is still in a state of self-sufficiency, and Zhang Jun, the Xuanfu envoy of Hedong, is stepping up construction and restoration, but it will take time to supply other regions.

In this case, the well salt of Fushun, Sichuan Province took on a heavy responsibility. It is not only to supply Sichuan locally, but also to the south. At present, a large part of the salt exported to the south has to be allocated to supply Shaanxi, which will inevitably lead to a problem, that is, the price of salt in the south will also rise.

Therefore, the entry of Sichuan salt into Shaanxi cannot last for a long time, and it can only be an expedient measure. The root cause of the problem must be identified in order to be solved. And what is the root cause of salt shortage in Shaanxi? It is that the border trade is forbidden, and the green and white salt in the summer realm cannot enter. It is also very simple to solve the problem, reopen the border trade, restore the field, and the problem will be solved.

But in this way, one thing is proven. The previous actions of the imperial court were very stupid and wrong, and they were purely decided by patting their heads. Moreover, when the Khitans were so arrogant and unreasonable, refused to return Jinsu, and even refused to admit their mistakes, the border was reopened, and the court went over again......

Sichuan and Shaanxi had accidents one after another, and not only Liu Guangshi felt troubled, but the emperor and the ministers of the imperial court also had headaches. At this time, there was a call for Xu Wei to come out of the mountain again. It is true that the problem in Sichuan and Shaanxi is not caused by Xu Wei's personal resignation, but is fundamentally a policy problem. However, with Xu Wei's personal ability and prestige, once he returns to the mountain, it will undoubtedly be of great help to solve this systemic problem.

The person who said this was quickly demoted from the court by Qin Hui. Even the reopening of border trade, he was hesitant, if Xu Wei was allowed to go out of the mountain again, wouldn't all the previous things be in vain? He even suspected that Xu Wei was colluding with the Khitans, who were helping Xu Wei and building momentum for him so that he could come back out of the mountain.

In fact, the Khitans wished that Xu Wei would never come out again. When Xiao Duolu was not in the Xingyuan prefect's meeting, he still had scruples, and once he learned that the person who came was not Xu Wei's cronies, and that Sichuan and Shaanxi were "correcting" Xu Wei's decree and purging Xu Wei's influence, his attitude suddenly changed to tough. Of course, this is due to Xu Wei's personal charm, but more importantly, the Khitans are afraid of Xu Wei's huge influence in Sichuan and Shaanxi, his unparalleled cohesion in the Western Army, and his uncompromising, untolerated, and unconniving style.

If Xu Wei was still in power, Xiao Duolu would not dare to attack Jin Su. Because he knows that Xu Wei is a guy who will be retribution. From the perspective of the general policy of the Liao army, the Song and Liao were originally allies and jointly dealt with the Jurchens. They want to see a strong leader in the Western Army. However, after the breakdown of the Song-Liao alliance, it was impossible to count on the Western Army, and in the long run, the Song was also a potential enemy of Liao, and since it could not be counted on, Xu Wei was of course also a threat. His resignation not only did not harm the interests of the Khitan, but also had benefits, so the Khitan people were "happy to see it".

The turbulent situation in Shaanxi made Emperor Zhao Jin very troubled, and he was even considering whether to let Xu Wei go back out of the mountain. Because these things are too big, as soon as Xu Wei leaves, Sichuan, Shaanxi, especially Shaanxi, will continue to have problems. Previously, Sichuan and Shaanxi had been stable and calm.

In addition, there is another reason why the emperor considered this matter. That is, Xu Xiuniang has moved back to Xiuchun Hall from Lize Garden. And the daughter born to Concubine Zhu Chen was also given to her to raise. For this matter, Empress Liu must be unwilling in her heart. But there is no way, she is now pregnant herself, and she has no energy to raise other people's children anymore. And Concubine Zhu begged the emperor before her death, and her daughter wanted Xu Xiuniang to raise her. Therefore, she did not stop Xu Xiuniang from moving back to Xiuchun Hall.

As soon as Xu Jieyu moved back, her father Xu Sheng resumed his position as the deputy envoy of the imperial camp. Because Xu Mu Wang was ill, the emperor personally inquired about the condition and sent the imperial doctor to diagnose and treat him. It was against this background that the DPRK and China called for Xu Wei to leave the mountain. But Qin Hui resolutely can't do this, please ask Xu Wei to go out of the mountain, then there is no problem of attacking the Xu family's forces.

Xu Wei has re-emerged from the mountain, so does Xu Liang also have to come back? He's back, what's the matter with me? Therefore, Qin Huizhi is also very entangled, if the problem is not solved, the situation in Shaanxi will continue to be turbulent, and Liu Guangshi will not be able to do it. If you want to solve the problem, it is equivalent to slapping yourself in the mouth, this is not advance, nor is it retreating, it is really difficult to ride a tiger.

That's when someone gave him an idea.

In the fourth year of Jing'an, Song and Liao spent time in conflict. But there is one side, but there is no sound from beginning to end, and you almost forget that it exists. That's right, it's the Jurchen Jin Kingdom. Wan Yan Liang is not right, the internal forces in all aspects need to be leveled, and the general environment is not very good for the Jin country, so Wan Yan Liang is destined to be a man with his tail between his legs for a period of time since he became emperor.

To this end, he made considerable patience and sacrifice. At the beginning of his ascension to the throne, Xu Wei came to take advantage of the fire to rob, and the Western Army pressed the border, in the name of revenge of the Golden Emperor, and carried out blackmail. Wan Yanliang couldn't afford to provoke him for the time being, so he said all the good things, sent money and horses, and finally lost Taiyuan.

In order to show weakness to the Southern Dynasty and form a favor with its monarchs and ministers, Wan Yanliang did not hesitate to flatter and recognize the Emperor of the Great Song Dynasty as his brother. Every once in a while, I have to pay homage, and when I meet someone in the Zhao family who has a birthday or something, I have to send an embassy and bring a generous gift to congratulate.

The Khitans also fished in troubled waters, taking advantage of the internal instability of the Jin State, and sent troops to capture Dongsheng, Heqing and other places. Wan Yanliang could only break his teeth and swallow blood, and there was no act of revenge.

All this, for what? In order to pretend, pretend to be grandchildren, and buy time for yourself by pretending to be grandchildren. It is not easy for such a proud person as Wan Yanliang to make this step. However, he thinks about the sages in ancient times, didn't King Goujian still lie down and taste the guts? What is my grievance?

However, forbearance does not mean that Dajin Guo "thinks behind closed doors", and during this time, he is also paying close attention to every move of Song and Liao. Sichuan and Shaanxi sent people to Datong Mansion to negotiate the return of land, cities, and surrender of troops, and he was keenly aware of the changes in the internal affairs of the Southern Dynasties, as well as changes in the situation in Sichuan and Shaanxi.

With Xu Wei's previous style, he would never do this. When has the Purple Tiger suffered a loss and admitted cowardice? Later, the Liao army actually raided Jinsu, which made Wan Yanliang feel cool for a long time. Okay, okay, these two are fighting, it's time for me to sit on the mountain and watch the tiger fight, waiting for the benefit of the fisherman.

But left and right, I didn't see any retaliation by the Western Army. This made him wonder, Xu Wei wouldn't it, right? It's all knocking on the door, can he bear it? But soon, he received the news that after his cousin Xu Liang resigned and left the phase, Xu Wei also suffered, and now he has resigned from his position and returned to the mountains and forests.

Hearing the news, Wan Yanliang was overjoyed. He even happily said to Wan Yan Bingde, now, our Dajin Kingdom has gone to a big enemy! Congratulations! Xu Wei, this guy is too bad! Since the Jin army went south, he has been fighting against Dajin Guo, and for more than 20 years, I don't know how many blockages this product has added to Dajin Guo! From Taizong to King Dongdu, both dynasties took his way! It turned out to be me! The soft knife kills without blood, and I will take Xu Wei down without blood!

If I show goodwill with the south, and if I have a brother of Emperor Zhao, the monarchs and ministers of the Southern Dynasty will not want to fight. A military minister like Xu Wei was born to fight, so what good is he if he doesn't fight? Holding hundreds of thousands of troops in his hands, and occupying the rich and dangerous places of Sichuan and Shaanxi, it is a huge threat to the Dajin Kingdom, and what about their imperial court? Let's take a break.

In view of these circumstances, Wan Yanliang instructed Yousi to step up the collection of intelligence on both Song and Liao. The effort paid off, and it didn't take long for him to learn the inside story of Song Liao's bad relationship. The root cause lies in the change of the major policies of the Southern Dynasties, which was ostensibly caused by Xu Wei's resignation.

Now, the Liao army occupies Jinsu and refuses to return it. The Southern Dynasties also banned border trade. The two sides had a very unpleasant quarrel. At present, the Liao army has gathered heavy troops on the front line of Hengshan Tiandu Mountain, and it seems that it wants to put pressure on the Southern Dynasty to force it to reopen the border and the field. The two sides were tense, but they didn't fight. After careful analysis, I feel that the two sides of Song and Liao are not yet ready to go to war.

In the fifth year of Song Jing'an, not long after the fifteenth year of the first month, the Tokyo Left-behind Division reported to the Hangzhou Dynasty that the Dajin State Mission had crossed the Yellow River. The envoy is still the cousin of Emperor Dajin, Wanyan Bao, the young man who has a good impression of him in the Hangzhou court, from the emperor to the minister, and has a high evaluation.

It's just that this time, Wan Yanbao's title is no longer Cao Guogong. After the last mission, after making great profits, he returned to the Jin Kingdom, rewarded Yan Liang for meritorious deeds, and crowned Wan Yan as the king of Zhao, and had a certain degree of good impression and trust in this cousin.

After hearing that Yan Bao was sent again, Zhao Jin remembered that when he held a banquet with the queen in the palace to entertain him last time, the other party's elegant demeanor and swaying conversation couldn't help but yearn for it. So he quickly whipped up and told all the prefectures and states along the way that they must treat each other well and not lose their courtesy.

And Wan Yan Bao is also very knowledgeable, and restricts his subordinates along the way, so as to show his dear and polite side, and not let people call me a fool. Just like that, I was kind all the way and arrived in Hangzhou happily. When he entered the city, Zhao Guan's family specially sent his younger brother Zhao Xun to greet him.

Then live in the Honglu Temple, which specializes in receiving state guests, and the butt of Yan Bao has not yet been hot, and the waiter of the Ministry of Rites has arrived again, welcoming him on behalf of the Song Dynasty. It was hard to stop, sleep at night, and early the next morning, Fan Tong, the governor of the political affairs, arrived again, which was the representative of the government.

On the same day, Wan Yan Bao and his deputy envoys and relevant officials cleaned up their clothes and entered the court to meet His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Song Dynasty. At the time of the meeting, he still bowed and bowed, and was very respectful and humble. Zhao Jin told him at the time that he missed it very much after a few years. Thanks to you again.

Wan Yan Bao also said that since returning to China, he often admires the demeanor of His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Song Dynasty and yearns for the customs and customs of the south of the Yangtze River.

The two sides saw each other very happily, but these things were superficial and etiquette, and no one knew the real purpose and intention of the envoys of the Jin State. This will not be mentioned until later when the envoys of the Jin State meet with the Great Song Dynasty. After Yan Bao paid homage to Zhao Guan's house, for two days, Zhao Jin set up a banquet to entertain him, and asked the minister to accompany him. It's very harmonious.

The generous conversation of King Zhao of the Jin Kingdom once again made the monarchs and ministers of the Great Song Dynasty "like a spring breeze". Since ancient times, China has this "Huayi" difference, the Han and the thief do not stand together, and the Huayi must be strictly distinguished. In the eyes of the Han Chinese, barbarians are rude, barbaric, and uncivilized savages. But this King Zhao of the Jin Kingdom, in addition to the color and hairstyle, is all over his body, from the inside to the outside, what is the difference between him and a Han Chinese? What's the difference with a well-educated celebrity? This made the monarchs and ministers of the Southern Dynasty "happy and optimistic", which is actually a kind of inferiority mentality. It's like China in later generations, when I suddenly saw a foreign adult who spoke Chinese fluently, I was amazing, this is an international friend! I can't give my heart to others.

After two days of hospitality, finally, the two sides were ready to get down to business. On this day, the emperor received the Liao State envoys and deputy envoys of the Song Dynasty in the Duancheng Palace, Wanyan Bao and Xiao Yu. The Prime Minister and Privy Envoy Zhi Yanzhi, the Deputy Minister and Imperial Envoy Qin Hui, the Governor Fan Tong, and Chen Kangbo were all present.

It is worth mentioning that the emperor originally wanted Xu Sheng, the deputy envoy of the imperial camp, to attend. Because the Imperial Camp Division is the body that controls the whole ** team. Only nominal, of course. The Prime Minister is also the Privy Envoy of the Supreme Military Chief, which means that the Zhongshu is both the State Council and the Military Commission, and the Imperial Camp Department becomes the Ministry of Defense, of course, in name.

But then I gave up for various reasons.

Zhao Jingao, the son of the Great Song Dynasty, sat on it, with a smile on the corner of his mouth, and seemed to be in a good mood. Below, Liao envoy Wan Yan Bao, deputy envoy Xiao Yu, and the accompanying staff officers sat on the left. The dignitaries of the Great Song Dynasty sat on the right. It's a lot of harmony.

Before talking about the matter, the emperor did not forget to ask Yan Bao: "King Zhao has been in Hangzhou for the past two days, can he still get by?" ”

"The so-called earth spirit master, nothing more than this. The elegance of the Great Song Dynasty made him very admired. This is really the world of flowers, splendid rivers and mountains! Wan Yan praised.

Zhao Jin was overjoyed when he heard this, and said with a smile: "Since King Zhao likes it, he might as well stay for more time." How about I send a commissioner to accompany you all over the Yangtze River? ”

"Thank Your Majesty for your kindness, and I am very willing. It's just that with the emperor's order, I don't dare to slack off. Wan Yan replied. Although he is a Jurchen, he is young, light and good, plus he is tall and burly, and his appearance is dignified, so he is easy to like.

Hearing him say this, Zhao Jincai said: "Well, how can you abolish the public because of private interests? Why did you go south this time? Let's just talk about it. ”

Wan Yan Bao bowed his head and said, "Yes." After a pause, he continued, "Since the peace between the north and the south, the Song and Jin dynasties have stopped fighting and the four seas have praised them, and the people have lived and worked in peace and contentment because of them, which is the luck of the north and the south. When my Dajin Emperor saw this, he was very pleased. However, last year, I wanted to give Jinsu Ningbian two places to show my sincerity of reconciliation. However, the Khitans are extremely unreasonable! actually sent troops to attack Jinsu, and after hearing the news, my Dajin Emperor was very angry! However, the evil deeds of the Khitan are far more than that. We have heard that in the northwest, there have been repeated frictions and conflicts between the Khitan and Sichuan-Shaanxi sides. Before leaving, Emperor Dajin said to his ministers that as a state of brothers, the affairs of Emperor Zhao's brother are my affairs. If the Khitan offends Tianwei, it is no different from offending Dajin. ”

"Not to mention, the Khitan also captured my Dongsheng and Heqing before. The list goes on and on. Looking at the behavior of the Khitan, he tried in vain to shake our two dynasties with his own strength. If it is not punished and stopped, it is only afraid that the tiger will be in trouble. For this reason, the Dajin Emperor and the imperial court all believed that they should unite with the Great Song Dynasty and jointly blame the Khitan, so as to show that the northern and southern dynasties of the country should not be violated. ”

After saying this, whether it was Zhao Jin in the palace or the important ministers of the Great Song Dynasty below, they all understood the intention of Wan Yan to come here.

!d@t