Li Cong was unwilling to admit that the combat effectiveness of the soldiers of the Great Zhou was not as good as that of the Liao State, nor was he willing to admit that the Great Zhou did not have good generals, but the fact was that the Great Zhou really could not defeat the Liao State.

But the Liao State didn't want to take the Great Zhou easily, so Li Cong thought about it, "It's because the two countries are equal in strength and have their own victories and defeats." ”

Yan Yan shook his head, "It's because we don't have enough war horses, our soldiers rely on two-legged walking, and these nomads in the north grew up on horseback, and two-legged people naturally have no chance of winning against four-legged horses." Therefore, if the Liao State is destroyed and the Jurchens repent, and we confront the Jurchens, what does the emperor think of the future? ”

Li Cong didn't squeak, because he knew one thing that the Great Zhou couldn't even beat the Liao State, and the Liao State was going to lose to the Jurchens, and the Great Zhou couldn't compete with the Jurchens.

"Again, there is no chance of winning. Throughout the history of thousands of years, the Central Plains has been plagued by these nomadic peoples in the north because of the lack of enough war horses, and there is rarely a time to live in peace. For this reason, the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun are not just natural barriers for us, it also has two natural places suitable for raising horses, because horses cannot be free-range, they need long mountains and valleys, they need beautiful grass and sweet springs, and they need large tracts of open land, and one of the places suitable for raising horses was taken by the Western Xia, and the other was in the hands of the Khitans, therefore, the women dared to speculate that the conditions offered by the Jurchens to unite with us to destroy Liao were nothing more than to return the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, because they knew how desperate we were to take back the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, The emperor thinks that such an important territory, will the Jurchens give it up? ”

"Liao will not let go easily." Li Cong retorted.

"It's true, but now that he has been attacked from both sides by Mongolia and Jurchen, he asked Da Zhou to send troops in the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun and the Death of the Country, if it is the emperor, how will the emperor choose?"

Li Cong still didn't answer, in fact, he didn't like this assumption very much.

"Your Majesty, whether it is the Jurchen or Mongolian, they are all a people who grew up on horseback, also known as nomads, and our Central Plains farming culture is very different, we follow the golden mean of Confucius and Mencius, pay attention to benevolence, righteousness, etiquette, wisdom and faith, they believe in the law of the jungle, therefore, the tribal struggle between them has not stopped for so many years."

Speaking of which, Yan Yan made a more detailed exposition of nomadic culture and farming culture.

The ideas she expounded were pieced together from the piles of books she had learned in her previous life and in this life, and she also gave examples of Wuhu Chaohua.

"These nomads proved to be much more ferocious than we thought, and everywhere they went, rivers of blood flowed so much that the Han had to flee to the barbarian lands in the south. For this reason, the women assume that we join forces with the Jurchen or the Mongols to destroy the Liao State, but the Jurchens turn their faces and do not recognize people, which means that we not only can't recover the sixteen states of Yanyun but also lose the barrier of the Liao State, and from Jizhou to the capital, this large area is a plain area, although there is a Yellow River, but once it freezes in winter, the horses can still gallop at will, and the emperor thinks that the Jurchen or Mongolia will give up such a good opportunity to go south? Therefore, the women of the people dared to believe that instead of pinning their hopes on the Jurchens and Mongolians, whom we did not know at all, it was better to believe in the Khitans who had coexisted peacefully with us for decades. ”

"But what if the Khitan also repents? Or what about the Khitan and Jurchen Mongols teaming up to deal with our Great Zhou? Li Cong asked rhetorically.

That's what scares him the most.

"There is indeed such a possibility, if the Khitan repents, we will not lose much, this barrier is still there, it is impossible for the Jurchens and Mongolia to set foot in the Central Plains, and we still maintain this status quo. As for the latter that the emperor said, it should be unlikely for the time being, but nothing is absolute, in case of accidents, the emperor can send an envoy to communicate with the Liao State to make our position clear, I believe that if the Emperor of the Liao State is a Ming monarch, he should choose to cooperate with us, because if the Great Zhou is destroyed, the Liao State will soon follow in our footsteps, and they should be able to expect this result. ”

"Is that really your own conclusion?" Li Cong admitted that Yan Yan had some truth in what he said, but he didn't believe that the words came from the mouth of a fifteen-year-old girl.

You must know that these civil and military officials in the court have been arguing for a long time, but no one is as convincing as Yan Yan's words, and even he has a feeling of empowerment for a certain period of time.

It's incredible.

Yan Yan saw the inquiry and suspicion in the emperor's eyes, and hurriedly knelt down, "Back to the emperor, it can't be said that it is my own conclusion." I told my uncle that I had read more books, so I had more basis than others. This time it was because my third aunt was in a hurry to go back, and I didn't worry about her, so I chased after her and asked the reason, knowing that it was because of the war, I chatted with my uncle for a few words. Back to the emperor, what the woman said may be a little naïve or immature, but the woman also said it with the idea of sharing the worries of the emperor and her uncle, and asked the emperor for forgiveness. ”

"Son, get up, seriously, your ideas are much stronger than those old stubborns in the court, but unfortunately, it would be nice if you were a boy, or..." Li Cong didn't say the rest of the words.

Yes, he regretted it.

If he had named Yan Yan as the county lord and sent him to Liao and his relatives, then he might not have these troubles today, and he believed that with Yan Yan's incorruptible tongue, he would definitely be able to persuade Liao and Da Zhou to cooperate.

It's a pity that he relented after all.

But then again, this child is really too rare, a girl actually has such a strong sense of distress, and what is even more rare is that she actually sees so far, and her analysis of these ethnic groups is also very pertinent, and it is unknown what other use there may be to stay around.

"Back to the emperor's uncle, boys and girls are the same, read more books, contact more different types of people, the horizon will be broader, the mind will be more active, and when thinking about problems, they will draw inferences and touch on others." Yan Yan bowed and replied.

"That's why you're sending that stupid boy to school?" Li Cong thought of Lu You.

"Back to the emperor, yes. The woman felt that she couldn't bury his talent, no matter what the final result was, we worked hard and would not regret it in the future. ”

"And what about your talent?" Li Cong blurted out.

"Husband and child." Yan Yan replied.

"Tell me the truth, do you feel wronged by this family business? Regret it? Li Cong suddenly became curious.

"The grievances are over, and since I married him, naturally the husband and wife share the joys and sorrows." Yan Yan brought out the words to Mrs. Lu on the second day of marriage.