Chapter 204: Western Xia as an envoy

Although the intensity of the fighting in the northwest has been alleviated by the severe cold of winter, the Western Xia soldiers who lacked food and clothing were seriously attrition in non-combat. On the other hand, looking at the Song army, the cotton clothes are not short, not to mention, even the charcoal has been transported to the front line. Both sides are gradually increasing their morale and overall fighting quality. In addition, the general headquarters Xingqing Mansion was surrounded, the central and local commands were disconnected, and the Western Xia army was even more passive.

Just after the Lantern Festival, the Royal Newspaper Headquarters received news that the Xixia people asked the Si family to come out to negotiate peace with the imperial court. According to the interview, the conditions of Western Xia were to keep the four states to the Tuoba clan as a fiefdom for feeding, and at the same time to make arrangements for other tribal nobles. Compared with the Western Xia, the Western Xia will be a vassal to the Song, not only does not need the Song to give the Western Xia materials every year, but the Western Xia will pay tribute every year.

According to the Tokyo News Agency, the court is in turmoil over whether to discuss and debate. There is no longer a civil and military dispute in this controversy, and both those who support and oppose peace have their own reasons and thoughts. The focus of attention is on the military aircraft, Tong Guan supports the peace, and analyzes that the retention of the four states in Western Xia is impossible to pose a threat to the Great Song Dynasty, and the strength will be weakened again, and it will be slowly assimilated by the Great Song Dynasty, and finally returned to the Song Dynasty. Tong Guan also secretly played and the emperor, as long as he controlled the number of Western Xia military horses, he would divide the back cover into Liao, and in the future, the only remaining Xixia kingdom would become a natural barrier.

However, the young people of the Military Aircraft Department did not agree with Tong Guan's view, and gave examples of the final rebellion of many foreign tribes who had returned to the Central Plains. And said that at present, a huge amount of military needs have been spent, and Western Xia has nothing to rely on, of course, it is to make Western Xia into Song soil in one go.

Another focus is on civil officials, Cai Jing said that if the mermaid of the Western Xia is broken, although the Western Xia can be destroyed in the end, our side will also suffer heavy losses. And every year there are wars, the treasury is dry, and the people have grievances. It is better to agree to negotiate peace, first, to get the entire territory of Western Xia, and second, to stop the war.

However, the head of the household department, more than a dozen second- and third-grade ministers, and local civil officials opposed Cai Jing's opinion. Li Gang is the envoy of the Northwest Military Road, and he has written tens of thousands of words. Song was powerful, and Western Xia naturally did not dare to rebel. But if the Song Dynasty lost power, the Western Xia might not rebel. He cited the matter of Emperor Taizu to illustrate that the Tangut people were protected from protection, from small to large. Siege the city and plunder the land, strengthen yourself, invade the Great Song Dynasty, plunder people and occupy the city. Li Gang thinks that if he doesn't take advantage of this opportunity, I'm afraid that the Western Xia will appear in the future, and he will grow from small to big and coerce Song Bian.

All opinions represent their own interest groups. Tong Guan naturally did not want to fight, and the current strategic focus should be to raise troops and prepare for war, so as to lay a good foundation for the future conquest of Liao. Enlightenment of Confucianism, under the influence of capital thought of Yangping University, thoughtful young people represent the interests of businessmen, and do business without playing businessmen. Cai Jing is speaking on behalf of the feudal lords, and if he continues to fight, the consumption of manpower and material resources will be serious. Li Gang represents local interests, and if he does not thoroughly solve the hidden dangers, the border will be restless.

Zhao Yu had a headache, and he had three court meetings in a row, each of which lasted more than an hour, and they were all arguing about this matter. Zhao Yuxian ordered the attacking troops to stop temporarily, and due to the cold weather, it was not too much of a problem to temporarily cease fire and wait for the imperial court to decide. But there are many dreams at night, and you must decide as soon as possible.

The Royal Newspaper conducted a survey in Tokyo and Shouzhou, and forty percent of the people were in favor of continuing to use troops against Western Xia, and three percent of the people hoped to accept it when they saw it. The other three out of ten people answered that they did not know or did not know. The Royal Press issued a strategic analysis of the Western Xia. It is believed that if the fight continues, it is expected to destroy the Western Xia around July and August. However, the total amount of funds and materials spent is expected to reach 60% of the fiscal revenue of the year.

This is a key one, the Tanguts still occupy the territory of more than a dozen states. If according to the peace agreement, the entire territory of Western Xia belonged to the Great Song Dynasty in principle. But within the four divided states, Western Xia had autonomy, including the right to conscript. If Western Xia gave up this right, things would be easier to say. But how could the Tangut people be so stupid.

In a few days, the opinions of the two main generals of Yongxing Military Road and Northwest Military Road arrived. The Yongxing army was greatly injured in this battle, and the poor should not chase after it, hoping that the imperial court could consider negotiating peace. Although there are also losses on the Northwest Military Road, Han Shizhong said that if it is not my race, its heart will be different. At the very least, it is necessary to accept the military power and the imperial court, otherwise it is impossible to raise tigers.

In the midst of many arguments, Yangping has a lot of guests. These guests included not only the political community, but also the business community and the noble community. Now that the two sides support and oppose the basic five-five opening, the emperor's attitude is wavering. And Ouyang, a chess piece that can affect the balance, is particularly important. In fact, Ouyang had already received a message from Zhao Yu who wanted him to go to Beijing, but he hadn't set off yet.

In dealing with these people, Ouyang saw a contradiction. The contradiction between feudalism and capital. The benefits that the conquest of Western Xia could bring to capital were significant, but the benefits to feudal landlords were much less. Under the influence of feudal Confucianism, some people have always believed that governing the country with benevolence was the first to instigate trouble in the Western Xia, and now people will be tolerant when they bow their heads. What is tolerant is great. He also cited many allusions from the Spring and Autumn Period. There is also a Buddhist saying that if you plant a melon, you will get a melon, and if you plant a bean, you will get a bean. The benevolent are invincible.

On the other hand, on behalf of capital, it hopes for more farms, more consumers, more labor, and more raw materials. There are also experts who use the data to explain to Ouyang how much profit can be obtained per year for each piece of land.

The dispute between the two had only one point, and in the presence of foreign troops, it was impossible for merchants to do business in the vicinity. Without destroying the Western Xia, this battle was fought in vain. The Western Xia was destroyed, and the whole territory of the Western Xia became a commercial area. On the other hand, they were worried that the development of Western Xia would take a lot of labor from the Song Dynasty. Nowadays, due to the development of commercial handicrafts, the rural population is already very tight, and if such a large area of people is still to be extracted, who will farm the land. Moreover, the more commerce developed, the more popular the feudal landowners who guarded the land. Because the return on investment of the two is not the same grade at all.

Careful people also found that due to the increase in the number of new officials and the retirement of old officials, Cai Jing could no longer lead the civilian clique. And the generals are the same, there are all kinds of voices.

Ouyang was shocked to hear the news before he set off, and in the middle of the quarrel, Cai Jing went to the table and begged to return to his hometown. Although it did not work out after Zhao Yu personally lobbied, it can be seen that the struggle of the imperial court has exhausted the old man. Although there are battles in the court, it is a good thing for the emperor who likes to play the art of balancing power. Zhao Yu was hesitant and quite satisfied. If Consul General Cai Jing said anything, she would be dissatisfied.

Ouyang said that he still had to wait for a few days because it was a little difficult to choose a travel bodyguard. Zhang San, Li Si and Bai Lian were originally the first choices. Judging from the corpse sinking case, Bai Lian is credible, but Bai Lian is married, so it is not convenient to accompany herself, and it will also cause some trouble to her family life. So the question is whether to bring Zhang San and Li Si.

According to the analysis of clues, it is likely that at least one of these two people has become Zhao Yu's person. And Ouyang went to Tokyo this time to secretly observe Jin San, and it was very inconvenient to take them. If you don't bring it, it's a clear distrust of them. And it will scare the snake. Finally, he asked Huilan, and Huilan gave Ouyang an analysis, if they are the emperor's people, if you don't bring them to the emperor's deeper suspicion. If they are not the emperor's people, it naturally doesn't matter if they bring them. Therefore, Whelan thinks that no matter what, he must take them on the road, but he must abandon his plan to secretly investigate Jin San.

Zhang San and Li Si didn't think about it so much, and they wouldn't suspect Ouyang. As soon as they called, they quickly packed up their clothes and dry food, arrived at the city gate on time, and the three of them set off for Tokyo together. When Ouyang saw them like that, he still felt a little guilty in his heart. If it were a modern era, Ouyang would not easily suspect his subordinates without ironclad evidence, but in ancient times when he couldn't even tell himself, Ouyang couldn't be careless.

Zhang San is diligent and diligent, Li Si is shrewd and calm, and the journey is not lonely. And because of Ganxin's explanation, both of them are more cautious and cautious than before this time. After Zhan Ming went to Qizhou to inquire about Jin Sandi's details, he never came back. The name of this exhibition is to visit his uncle in Taiyuan Mansion, and it will take at least more than a month to go around in a circle.

Ouyang and his entourage arrived in Tokyo without panic, and they were treated differently from Li Han's Qincha. After the eunuch entered the confession, Ouyang was directly announced.

Zhao Yu greeted a few words as usual, and then changed his words and said, "I believe you already know about the affairs of the court. I don't know what you think? ”

Ouyang said: "It's actually very simple. What is the attitude of the Liao people towards the Western Xia peace? ”

"Liao?" Zhao Yu asked rhetorically.

The ninth prince replied: "Your Majesty, the Liao people also have two opinions. One is to hope that the Western Xia and our Great Song will agree to negotiate peace, and once the Song and Liao wars, the Western Xia people will inevitably rekindle their hope of recovering the country. Another opinion is to hope that the Western Xia will resolutely resist and consume the national strength of our Great Song Dynasty. ”

"Since we assume that the enemy is the Liao, we can't let the Liaons take the benefits. According to Weichen, the Western Xia gave us peace conditions, but it was better for us to give the Tangut people conditions. First, if you give up your military power, you can give up a few kings, and we will assign them a few states. Second, it is necessary to give up military power. In this way, the ball was kicked to the side of Xixia, it is not that we are unkind, we have made conditions, we have been benevolent, and we also hope to stop fighting. If the Western Xia had not seized the military power, the people who supported the peace negotiations would also see clearly that the Western Xia people had ambitions to restore the country, and they would have nothing to say if they continued to send troops. If the Western Xia gave up their military power, there would be no threat to the merchants, and the ministers who supported the merchants would have no reason to oppose it. So we asked Xixia to either be a prince of peace or burn all the jade. No matter how the Tangut people chosen, the opinions of the court were unanimous. ”

Zhao Yu nodded again and again: "It's still you Ouyang who can see clearly." ”

Ouyang felt guilty again, he believed that others had said the same thing, but Zhao Yu listened to his own family, obviously giving himself a lot of trust. Seeing Zhao Yuna's smile, Ouyang had the *** who told the old man to return to his hometown, and even asked about Liu Sinu in person.

Zhao Yu said: "For my Great Song Dynasty, the most hopeful thing is that the Western Xia people give up their military power and continue to fight, which is not a good thing for both the Song and Western Xia." Ouyang, it's okay for you to leave or right, it's better to go to Xixia. ”

"To Western Xia?" Ouyang immediately felt guilty, and began to wonder, could this trick be the legendary murder with a knife?

"Of course, I won't go to the Western Xia Realm, and the venue for peace talks is tentatively set in the Hexi Corridor. General Han sent a large army to protect it. You're notoriously good at taking advantage of it, and you're famous. I also negotiated peace with Western Xia, and fought with Li Qianshun and You, I think that you are the most suitable person in the Great Song Dynasty. ”

"Yes!" Ouyang felt guilty again, in his heart Ouyang was very reluctant to believe that Zhao Yu had put himself to death, but evidence was evidence after all.

"I have good news that hasn't been announced yet." Zhao Yu was in a good mood and said: "Yesterday Yuzhou came to report, two months ago, the fleet led by Liang Hongyu had five warships arrived at the Yuzhou dock first, and Liang Hongyu in the Mediterranean Sea wrote a letter of seal, you see." ”

The ninth father-in-law took it down, and Ouyang opened it, which was his mother-in-law's handwriting, which described the movements of the fleet. There were references to blacks and whites in Africa, and the fleet was largely carried out according to a nautical plan. With the exception of a small number of ships that are repaired at sea or in ports, most of the ships are on the Mediterranean line. The fleet was on a visit from country to country, and the seal said that the fleet had been personally received by the kings of most countries, especially the Mediterranean countries, and that the fleet was treated with great courtesy, and that many of the kings and governors who visited gave gifts in return.

The seal specifically mentions Sir de Froey, who received the fleet in France, as the supreme commander who had led the Crusaders and the Song Army. He was very enthusiastic about taking a group of civil and military courtiers to visit France. And France was to send ten merchant ships to follow the convoy to Song. He has also discussed sending ships to the countries he has visited, and the time for the Song Dynasty will be set after consultation.

It is mentioned in the seal that the fleet fought seven times, and the targets of attack were all pirates. Two pirates forcibly boarded a ship that had been stranded for repairs and tows, and after the battle, the captain and eleven forbidden soldiers were killed, forty-five pirates were killed, and two pirate ships were sunk. Torture captured pirates, and then the fleet retaliates against the pirate village where the pirates are entrenched. A number of jewellery and gold items were seized.

It is expected that in another four months, the main fleet will reach Yuzhou, and after a month of stay, it will return as planned.

The letter was very long, and it was clear that there was a lot of going on, and everything was simply stated. Although it was a few bland words, you can imagine the tension when these things happened. Most of the pirates were concentrated in the Arabian Strait of the Mediterranean, especially on the Roman border, where piracy was rampant. And the Song army also used extermination revenge, found the pirate village, and killed all men, women, and children. As for the arrival, the pirates fled when they saw the flag. They will not understand that it is an Eastern tradition that there is no way of revenge even for trial. Even if it wasn't to avenge the fallen forbidden soldiers and captains, the Song people never had humane thoughts about robbers.

The letter also said that the weapons, ships, and tactics of various countries are very backward. The production capacity is low, and the businessmen have not yet formed a scale operation. They still use cold weapons. It is also mentioned that a lot of vegetable seeds were collected, and there were special officials who recorded the environment in which the seeds were cultivated.

Many historians believe that it was passed down by the Mongols in the Yuan Dynasty, but some historians say that in the ninth century, there were rudiments of gunpowder in Europe. Some historians say that it was not transmitted by China, while others say that it was transmitted by Arabs, so it is difficult to reach a conclusion. In any case, it is an indisputable fact that the gunpowder of the Yangping Military Factory dominates the world. Liang Hongyu believes that a very important reason for being courteous in the Mediterranean is that the Song state has weapons and ships that they do not have.

Zhao Yu saw that Ouyang finished reading it and said: "I have ordered the historian to make a book of this form, and the original text will be copied and recorded for history." I'm glad you did a great job. ”

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your compliment." Dead woman, why don't you write a letter to yourself?

Zhao Yu nodded and suddenly changed the topic: "How is the Yangping corpse sinking case going?" ”

"Back to Your Majesty, as soon as Liu Sinu died, Weichen didn't have any clues." Ouyang asked: "This Liu Sinu has lived in Tokyo for a long time, I don't know who Liu Sinu had a close relationship with before the punishment was found?" ”

Zhao Yudao: "The criminal yamen came to report, saying that Liu Sinu lived alone in the suburbs, and never came to the door of the court officials, and never visited the court officials. This case has caused public discussion for a long time and has not subsided, so I see that this case will be put aside for the time being. Although Liu Sinu is a commoner, she is also the father of the imperial concubine, and it is a matter of royal face to investigate, so I let Ouchi take over the investigation. What do you think? ”

"Your Majesty." Hum! I'm afraid that someone will track it down and pull it to Ouchi, right? Ouyang said darkly.

"You go back and rest, and listen to the announcement the day after tomorrow."

"Yes! Wechen retired. ”

Listening to Xuan in the early dynasty, Zhao Yu first made a decision on his attitude towards Western Xia. If Western Xia wanted military power, they could only destroy them. If the Western Xia did not want military power, they could cede the land and negotiate peace, and promised never to invade first. Appointed Ouyang as the minister of the Qin Mission, and went to the Hexi Corridor to negotiate the details of the peace and act cheaply. In addition to the Qincha Guard, Ouyang was followed by more than 20 officials from the three provinces and six departments. On the road to the peace talks, the imperial court only gave a deadline of two and a half months, if the negotiations were not completed, Ouyang directly communicated to the armies in the name of the Qin mission, and the Song army continued to attack at the beginning of summer.

This Qincha's authority was so great that Ouyang began to doubt his judgment. Is it Zhao Yu who wants to kill himself? As a former police officer, evidence is higher than subjective judgment. When almost all the evidence pointed to Zhao Yu, Ouyang couldn't help but have reservations about Zhao Yu's trust.

Then Li Yifeng analyzed it privately, and Ouyang realized that it was not a need for interests that he was a messenger, but a need. Under the quarrel between the two parties, Ouyang, a seemingly neutral emperor's cronie, provoked the matter, and both sides had nothing to say. Even if he had something to say, he was saying bad things about Ouyang in private. Zhao Yu itself was not affected.

In addition, Ouyang was responsible for the first negotiation with the Tangut people, and was familiar with the people in the Northwest Military Road, and had a deep understanding of the local customs. On the one hand, he was a nobleman, and on the other hand, he represented merchants. There is another point, Ouyang did not let Song Guo suffer every time he made a move. The most important thing is that the Xixia people hate and fear Ouyang, because this person is wealthy. How many people are there in a tribe to intercept the level? Five thousand? Then take 500,000 and smash it, and the level will be smashed. This kind of money-throwing war can't be fought at all.

The Song Dynasty didn't dare to fight like this, otherwise it would buy a checkpoint, and the people who didn't pay for the lower checkpoint would not do it, and the court would do this, which would have a great impact on the morale of the soldiers. But Ouyang private has no scruples, how to spend private money, who is happy to smash it, who can control it. Although there are many rich people, Ouyang's unscrupulous behavior of ruining his family and harming others and not benefiting himself really makes the people of Western Xia really weak-hearted, and maybe one day another clan will be seduced by Ouyang with money and run away.

Of course, they also overestimated Ouyang's ideological and moral character, and Zhao Yu knew that after this guy finished throwing money for the country, he would find a way to extract some money from the taxes paid to the state treasury by Yangping as compensation. However, every time it is the meaning of the meaning to balance the heart, Zhao Yu does not care.