With the nature of the upper echelons of the Xia Kingdom, the final result of bullying the weak and fearing the hard was to have to accept an inexplicable unequal treaty. A treaty was signed between the Song and Xia countries in Lanzhou, an emerging central city in the northwest, that both sides shocked and regretted, and the people were the winners. Xia originally hoped that the best result was to keep the current territory and all the status quo, but the result was far beyond the best expected.

The terms that surprised the Xia Guo party elites shocked everyone who knew the details. The ten towns on the Song-Xia border were permanently opened as trade hubs, and there were no restrictions on the goods exported by the Xia Kingdom (no matter what strategic materials they were, even if they were copper coins and iron tools that were strictly forbidden before), the annual coin handed over to the Western Xia was increased to 1.8 million guan, and fifty cities within the Great Song Empire were opened as mutual embassies and commercial bases, and the land inside the embassy area would be regarded as the territory of the Xia Kingdom (the implantation of the modern diplomatic system), and hundreds of sets of all-steel armor (full body armor and complete sets of horse armor) were exported every year, Xia people who want to immigrate to settle in the Great Song Empire will be regarded as legal immigrants, and as long as they pass the quarantine, they can get a household registration status.

The major forces that learned the news were stunned, and they had never heard of such preferential treatment or currying favor with the defeated country. The high-level leaders of the Great Song Empire also launched Zhao Shouzhong's lobbying ultimate skill - verbal warfare, nuclear weapons, to settle the ministers and empress dowagers who could not understand the terms.

In Su Shi's backyard, Zhao Shouzhong and Li Ji, who were drinking tea, explained Su Shi's doubts while admiring the facsimile of the inscription of Su Shi's "Lushan Temple Tablet".

"Benhua, these terms are not all preferential treatment to Xia Guo, in the eyes of many people who don't know the truth, this is a traitor, can't you explain the mystery to people other than a few of us who participate in political affairs? The pressure that the old man has been under these days is too great. Every day, students and subordinates want us to stop being silent and speak out against these terms until the final seal is finalized! ”

"Xianggong, you also know the reason why we can't announce it, as long as it takes a year to see the results, and the result of the disintegration of the Xia Kingdom in three years is a certainty, doesn't Xianggong want to see my century-old enemy of the Great Song Dynasty wiped out in one fell swoop? As long as we insist on silence, we can suppress public opinion and public discussion, and not many people in the government and the opposition will know these terms, after all, we are signing a secret agreement! ”

"On the surface, the full opening of trade seems to be a capital enemy and a traitor, but if Xia wants to buy something, he must have money to buy it? If they don't have cash, they have to pay hard currency and special products, how much hard currency do they have for gold, silver, horses, copper ingots, etc.? What are the specialties? The value of the goods we exported to Xia is more than ten times that of the goods imported from Xia, and the difference of nine times can be filled with the copper coins and gold and silver of Xia? Didn't the powerful and wealthy who bought the goods still have to pay with land and IOUs? In three years, every powerful person in Xia will owe us a huge debt, and if they dare to repay their debts, we will annex Xia in a straightforward manner. These three years are the time for us to weaken them and strengthen themselves. ”

"The increase in the year's coins is also to fill the gap, but are you sure that this money is from the Zhongxia Trading Company? This small commercial bank, which was established only last year, only has a capital of 50,000 yuan, how can it bear the burden of more than 1.7 million yuan per year? The Qingli and Yichaotang of the Song and Xia Dynasty gave 50,000 taels of silver to the Western Xia every year. In addition, every year, 22,000 taels of silver, 23,000 horses of silk, and 10,000 catties of tea are given to Xixia on various festivals. All of these are only 200,000 yuan, and the Zhongxia trading company also has to pay 1.5 million yuan! ”

"I don't bother with this, I don't know if the teacher saw the stock that was delivered to the house a few days ago?" Zhao Shouzhong asked.

"What stock?"

"Is it the stock of the Zhongxia Trading Company sandwiched in the middle of a "History of Chinese Painting" compiled by Gao Jing?"

"What? You're right? Again? Although I accepted the hospital free treatment card and membership card that were sandwiched in Wu Changle's (Wu Qizi Changle)'s "New Treatise on Typhoid Fever" last time, I didn't take advantage of you, after all, I sent three calligraphy and paintings to you, and this time I sent stocks? Bribe me? ”

"Teacher, this is not a bribe, the disciple gave 50,000 shares worth 60 yuan per share, which accounts for 2% of the total share capital, this is real money, in order to distribute it to the relevant officials and the public, please come forward to share, we are very inconvenient to come forward! This is not a fee for you to remain silent, but to keep the money for buying the road that we plan to have no resistance from officialdom in the future. The disciple has calculated that after three years, this investment can get more than ten times the return, that is to say, the annual currency expenditure of 4.5 million guan and the company's expenses can earn a total of 40 million guan; Not only has it solved the problem of the Xia Kingdom, let us make a fortune, but also extended our power to every corner of the Western Regions, which is really a lot of money! ”

"Exporting hundreds of sets of all-steel armor every year is also to consume the national strength of the Xia Kingdom! We only sell not give, a full set of armor is definitely better than their cold forging armor, the price is even more expensive, not including the maintenance cost after buying there is 700 guan, a hundred sets is 70,000 guan, we can earn 60,000 guan in this transaction, if they use our old coins to buy 500 sets, we are only equivalent to 1.2 million yuan of coins. If we use these armors to fight, the cost of maintenance will cost hundreds of dollars, and we can't afford to lose it. Li Ji explained.

Zhao Shouzhong also said that there was no pressure: "These stocks are all our money to buy roads, and our terms for sheltering immigrants are also to attract talents from Xia Guo and disintegrate people's hearts." In order to break the hearts of the Xia people, the grain, salt, textiles, and munitions we exported were all soldiers, and we could easily create famine and unemployment. The migration of displaced people can greatly weaken the war potential of the Xia Kingdom, as long as the annual population loss of more than 100,000 people is maintained, the Xia Kingdom with excessive blood loss is a patient who can be overthrown at any time. ”

Su Shi had to say that he would definitely try his best to cooperate with the plan of Li Ji and others, and strive to promote the early signing of the treaty by the court.