The north wind blew across the prairie, gently blowing by Yelu Zongzhen and Li Yuanhao's side, bringing up their clothes and cloaks lightly.

It was evening, the sun was high in the distance, the sun was shining on the sunset, the brilliant fiery clouds under the twilight hung in half of the sky, and geese seemed to have returned from the winter in the south, and crossed the distant sky like black dots.

At sunset, the two masters of the Western Xia and the Liao Kingdom were sitting cross-legged, eating air-dried beef and mutton and drinking the goat's milk wine made by the Liao, talking about what was happening in the Southern Song Kingdom.

Li Yuanhao was still playing with the wine glass in his hand, raised his head and asked Yelu Zongzhen, "Where does Your Majesty think this person comes from?" ”

"I heard that Song Guo has sailed overseas many times, and I am afraid that it is from a distant country."

Yelu Zongzhen said.

"Well, that's what the minister thinks, too."

Li Yuanhao frowned and said, "It's just that the ministers have seen a lot of people from abroad, but they find that they are different from the Han people." ”

"I haven't heard if Zhao Jun is Han or not, maybe it's people from other countries."

Yelu Zongzhen said: "What's more, since the pre-Qin period, it has been rumored that there is an elixir of life overseas, which attracts many people to the sea, and it is normal for some Han people to be displaced overseas. ”

"That's true, but is it so powerful in an overseas country?"

Li Yuanhao was still surprised.

"Who knows?"

Yelu Zongzhen shrugged: "At least Song Guo has been going to sea, maybe it has something to do with this." ”

None of them thought that Zhao Jun came from the future.

After all, this is really beyond their cognition, they would rather believe that Zhao Jun is an immortal, and it is impossible to think that Zhao Jun is from a thousand years later.

"It's a pity that I didn't pay too much attention to this person at the beginning, otherwise, if I sent an assassin while he was patrolling the world, I might be able to kill him, and I wouldn't be so troubled by Your Majesty today."

Li Yuanhao shook his head, when Zhao Jun inspected the world, it might have been the best time to kill him, but now don't think about it, it is difficult to assassinate Zhao Jun in Bianliang City.

It is said that when he traveled, he was not only protected by hundreds of guards, but also a large number of secret agents and dead soldiers were with him, disguised as civilians and hiding nearby.

If there is any move, there will be thousands of guards in an instant. In addition, the Imperial City Division and the left and right two-box forbidden armies will also rush to help as soon as possible.

It can be said that if you want to assassinate Zhao Jun in Bianliang, unless there are tens of thousands of horses. Otherwise, it would be unrealistic for so many assassins to get close to Zhao Jun or to go to his house in the middle of the night.

"Forget it, whether it is because of him or not that the Song Kingdom has become so strong, it is imperative to think about how to deal with the Song Kingdom now."

Yeluzong really didn't want to talk too much on this topic.

But Li Yuanhao said: "Your Majesty, the minister feels that this matter has been scrutinized. Your Majesty, think about it, if Zhao Jun is from overseas, and there are powerful appliances overseas, if we can also go to sea."

"You want me to organize an ocean-going fleet?"

Yelu Zongzhen's brows furrowed even deeper.

"Yes, with the strength of the Liao State, maybe it can be done, if you can find a person like Zhao Jun"

"I'm afraid it won't work."

"Why?"

Li Yuanhao was puzzled, their Western Xia was inland, not to mention the sea, and there were not even a few larger lakes, so it was unrealistic to form a fleet to go to sea.

So he could only count on Yelu Zongzhen, after all, the Liao State also had a huge and long coastline.

But Yelu Zongzhen said: "Since seven or eight years ago, the fleet of the Song people has been rampant in the Bohai Sea, and I have not formed a fleet, but after going to sea, there has been no news." ”

As he spoke, he looked up and sighed.

The maritime trade between the Great Song Dynasty and Goryeo and Japan was very good, and the sulfur of the Liao Kingdom relied on the Great Song merchants to buy it from Japan and then sell it to them, for which they had to bear high costs.

How could Yelu Zong really not covet this trade profit?

Even if it is not for the sake of making money, just trading directly with Japan, so that those Song middlemen cannot make the difference, it will save a lot of defense spending.

But now Yelu Zongzhen found that he was naïve, and the Song people had already established a strong force on the ocean, whether it was a military force or a civilian force, it was not something that the Liao State could contend with.

The technology of the ships alone is far inferior to others, the Great Song Dynasty was able to create a huge sea ship, and there were more than thirty or forty cannons on board, while the sea ships of the Liao State were much smaller, and the power of the artillery was not comparable.

Therefore, a fleet of ships that Yelu Zongzhen had painstakingly assembled tried to cross the Bohai Sea and the East China Sea to Japan, but finally disappeared at sea, and not even a single message came back.

This made him realize that the fleet he had formed was very likely to be wiped out by the Song State.

It's just that there is no long-range communication capability in this era, and he doesn't know whether it was eliminated by the Song Kingdom.

In the absence of evidence, even if he sent someone to question Song Guo, Song Guo only needed to reply that the sea was risky, and it was possible that the entire fleet might be wiped out in the event of wind and waves, and he had nothing to say.

As a result, Yelu Zong really suffered a dumb loss in this matter, and never formed a fleet since then.

"I'm afraid that the Song Kingdom sent someone to harm him."

Li Yuanhao said immediately.

"It's not like I don't think so, but there's no evidence."

Yelu Zong really said helplessly.

"The Song people are really insidious, so they firmly control the sea, and there is no place for us."

Li Yuanhao immediately said: "But does this also show more that there are not only countless gold and silver treasures overseas, but also powerful figures like Zhao Jun?" ”

"Perhaps, but the Song Kingdom has completely controlled the ocean, and I can't do anything about it."

Yelu Zong really didn't want to admit the defeat of the Liao State at sea, but he couldn't really promise Li Yuanhao to send someone to the sea, even if he pretended to agree, he couldn't do it.

After all, if Li Yuanhao pinned all his hopes on him going to sea to find a strange person like Zhao Jun, then Li Yuanhao would probably no longer join forces with him and directly start a war with the Great Song Dynasty, fantasizing about a person like Zhao Jun every day to help them become stronger.

But Yeluzong really knew that he couldn't do it, so they could only die slowly, and in the end, the Great Song Dynasty became more and more powerful and terrifying, and then easily wiped out their Great Liao.

Therefore, Yelu Zongzhen could only reject Li Yuanhao and make him completely lose interest in overseas, so that they could devote their main energy to dealing with the Song State.

"Okay, let's not talk about that, let's get down to business."

Yelu Zong really said: "You also know that if it drags on like this, the Song Kingdom will only be stronger, although we are also getting stronger, but compared with the Song Kingdom, how big the gap is, you should also have some experience." ”

"Yes, although our national strength has also changed, it is all a little scrap in the hands of the Song Kingdom, how can it be compared with their Song Kingdom?"

Li Yuanhao also sighed: "I once sent people to secretly go to the camp on the border of the Song State to check, I don't know how many cannons are placed on their camps, and the number of artillery pieces in the dozens of military villages on the periphery of the border alone is more than that of my country in Daxia, not to mention the cities behind them." ”

"The same is true of Hebei, I have also arranged a lot of artillery in Yanyun, but the number is far less than that of the Song Kingdom. In particular, their muskets can be described as sharp weapons in the field. You can kill people from a hundred feet away, and even ordinary armor can't resist it. ”

Yelu Zongzhen said, "I have heard that their muskets are becoming more and more powerful now, and the muskets that I have imitated."

"Your Majesty copied the musket?"

Li Yuanhao's eyes lit up, this thing made him suffer a lot in the last battle, if the Liao State could imitate it, then he wouldn't have to be afraid of a fierce battle with the Song State in the wild.

However, Yelu Zongzhen's words disappointed him.

I heard Yelu Zongzhen sigh and say: "Compared with the muskets of the Song people, the muskets I imitated are not a little bit worse, not only the loading speed is slow, but also it is easy to explode, and it is not as good as a knife and gun." ”

This is also normal.

Because what Yelu Zong really didn't know was that the musket was not only a technology, but also a product of the progress of materials science.

Before the Industrial Revolution, steel production was insufficient, so firearms had to be made from wrought iron.

However, the sturdiness and durability of wrought iron are far inferior to steel, and the explosion rate of artillery and muskets in the Ming and Qing dynasties can be said to be high, so that soldiers in the Ming and Qing dynasties would rather use cold weapons than use these things.

Since the beginning of the British Industrial Revolution in the West, with mature steelmaking technology, the output of steel has been greatly increased, and the raw materials used to make muskets and artillery have become much more reliable and stronger, and the explosion rate has naturally decreased, which has led to the technological development of muskets and artillery.

It can be said that many scientific and technological products are actually changed due to the change of materials, the same gun, even if it is exactly the same internal structure or external shape, plastic and steel are completely two powers.

So this is also the reason why materials science can change the world, if the nanomaterials developed by Wang Miao in "The Three-Body Problem" can really be realized, maybe the future space elevator is not a dream.

Liao and Western Xia did not have the steelmaking method provided by Zhao Jun, so naturally there was no steel, and compared with the muskets and artillery made by the Great Song Dynasty Iron and Steel, it was more than a grade worse.

Therefore, Zhao Jun never concealed the gunpowder count, and even sold the complete gunpowder formula. Because only in this way will the Liao State and the Western Xia State buy a large amount of sulfur obtained by the Song State, which will indirectly contribute to the economic development of the Great Song Dynasty.

"Ugh."

Li Yuanhao also sighed.

"I'm afraid that the musket is inferior to the Song Kingdom after all, but the artillery will not be too bad."

Yelu Zongzhen said in a deep voice: "If we can concentrate and take the Song Kingdom by surprise, maybe we can defeat them." ”

"Is Your Majesty planning a decisive battle with the Song Kingdom?"

Li Yuanhao asked.

"Hmm."

Yelu Zongzhen nodded slightly, closed his eyes, looked up to the sky and sighed: "If it is possible, who wants to gamble on this elusive national fortune? ”

If there is no full-scale war, the gap between the two sides will become wider and wider, especially when the railway of the Song State is repaired to the border between Song Xia and Song Liao, which is basically the time when the Western Xia and Liao are completely finished.

Once the Great Song Dynasty wanted to start a war against them, a day or two of the hundreds of thousands of troops of the Workers' Wife and the baggage that could supply the army had already arrived.

And their troops are still coming from the rear, and the supplies still have to be escorted for a long time.

Unless they concentrate most of the country's forces on the border.

But what about the country in that case?

You must know that the Liao State is often under the pressure of uprisings of other ethnic groups within it because of its huge territory, and the Jurchens will not mention it, the Mengwu people on the grassland, the Bohai people in the northeast, the Jinwu people in the northwest, and so on.

There are more than 100 ethnic groups in China, large and small thousands of tribes, many of whom are dissatisfied with the rule of the Liao State, and there are not a few ethnic minorities who want to overthrow their rule.

Therefore, Yeluzong really had no way to concentrate a large number of troops on the Song-Liao border, and even if there was a full-scale war, he had to leave a part of his troops in the country.

This made Yelu Zong really uncomfortable.

But this is also a helpless place, the larger the territory, the stronger the national strength, but at the same time it has to pay the price of a vast territory.

Li Yuanhao naturally has the same troubles.

Although there were not as many tribes within Western Xia as the Liao State, there were many other ethnic groups.

Even not only the Dangxiang, Uighur, Tubo and other tribes, but also the Han people in the Western Regions, once the Western Xia forces could not suppress it, then he would definitely be counterattacked.

Therefore, the two can be said to be sympathetic.

Hearing Yelu Zongzhen's words at this moment, Li Yuanhao deeply agreed: "Yes, if it drags on any longer, we will never recover." ”

"This time we are here to meet the alliance, that is, to agree on a charter of common advance and retreat, how to attack, how to attack, we must discuss a countermeasure, otherwise we will not end up here."

Yelu Zongzhen said.

Li Yuanhao said: "The minister has a way. ”

"Oh?"

Yelu Zongzhen said, "Let's hear it. ”

"The Song people are strong, but they don't take the initiative to attack us."

Li Yuanhao said: "When I attacked Qingtang, when the Song army had already won a complete victory, and our country was empty, they did not take advantage of the void, which shows that they themselves are not sure to destroy us." ”

"Hmm."

Yelu Zongzhen nodded slightly, the Liao State was also defeated by the Song army at the beginning, but Fan Zhongyan only recovered Zhuozhou, but did not take advantage of the victory to pursue and take the entire Yanyun, maybe the Song State is only strong on the surface at present, but in fact, he is still a little weak in his heart towards Liaoxia.

"Therefore, the ministers think that they will definitely not start a full-scale war with us now, and I even suspect that they should wait for the time when the national strength will become stronger, and then send troops to destroy us, and now is our last chance."

Li Yuanhao said.

This is their own thinking, thinking that the Great Song Dynasty did not dare to take the initiative to attack because they were not fully sure of their destruction, but they didn't know that Zhao Jun deliberately kept them with other plans.

But that's normal, too.

The ancients had certain limitations in their thinking, they did not know what it meant to be a dumping place of goods and a country producing raw materials.

If you knew, it would probably be a great shame.

"But if we take the initiative to attack, we still have to touch the hard nails on the border of the Song Kingdom."

Yelu Zongzhen said.

"Therefore, the minister learned the lesson of attacking Qingtang, and did not directly attack the Song State, but attacked the east and the west."

"Oh? How to make a sound? ”

"I thought that when the Song signed a treaty with Qingtang and Goryeo, it would have to be obeyed, otherwise how could it convince the public?"

Li Yuanhao said: "Look at the last war between me and Qingtang, I know that their main forces in the northwest have been dispatched, and it is bound to keep Qingtang, if we attack Qingtang and Goryeo at the same time, the Song State will definitely rush to help, especially Goryeo, and the Song State will definitely send troops from the sea." ”

"Hmm."

Yelu Zongzhen nodded with a slight groan.

Li Yuanhao took the opportunity to continue: "We made a false shot, and on the surface we were attacking Qingtang and Goryeo on a large scale, but in fact, we were showing troops on the border. Once their soldiers and horses on our border are transferred, their steam train has not yet been built, and the soldiers and horses in Kaifeng cannot pass in a short time, we can directly capture their Shaanxi and Hebei roads, and only need to seize their materials on the border, take their muskets and artillery, and not be able to fight with their Kaifeng forbidden army. ”

"Hmm"

Yelu Zongzhen's eyes narrowed.

this strategy.

Seems to be interesting.

(End of chapter)