Chapter 16 first quarter
The case of Tang Kang and Tian Liewu was concluded, the emperor went down to Taiwan to appeal to the academic academy for miscellaneous discussions, and the Weinan mutiny was officially announced to the world. The rumors circulating in the market were officially confirmed, and the whole world was shocked.Newspapers have played an unimaginable role in disseminating information—the entire process of the Weinan mutiny was reported in detail to the citizens of major cities in the Song Dynasty, which caused waves that Zhao Xu could not have expected—even though Song Ting had The edict exempted Weinan from taxes for five years, ordered Shaanxi Road to properly bury the dead soldiers and civilians, and summoned more than 300 eminent monks to go to Weinan to chant sutras to save the wronged souls.The image of the Forbidden Army and warriors, originally managed by Shi Yue painstakingly, coupled with the great victory of the Xia Dynasty, has greatly improved. It can be said that it has never been so good since the end of Tang Dynasty.However, after this incident, it will inevitably be seriously damaged again.The government and the opposition Qingyi's whipping of the Xiongwu army inevitably brought disaster to Chiyu, and the inherent prejudice and suspicion of the warriors resurfaced. The overwhelming criticisms flooded the Shufu, the Ministry of War, and the Weiwei Temple in just a few days. .Although Wen Yanbo was a veteran of the three dynasties, he was inevitably questioned; even Sun Gu, the newly appointed minister of the Ministry of War, could not escape the accusation; and in order to cope with the huge pressure from the government and the opposition, the two governments had to force Wei Wei Siqing to "voluntarily" resign , And thus began a nightmarish history - Since then, no one in the Song Dynasty has been able to retreat from the position of "Weiweisiqing".But the more direct pressure is for the officers and soldiers of the Sanya and the Forbidden Army to bear. For a long time, they dare not wear military robes when they go out...
The mutiny of the Xiongwu Second Army was not only a disgrace to the army of the Song Dynasty, but also a blow to the reformers who had been determined to clean up military discipline and reshape the image of warriors since the reform of the military system.Worst of all, the factional disputes within the Song Army were also made public by this incident—whether it was the troops of the Dianqian Division, the Western Army, the Hedong Army, or the Southeast Army, no one was willing to take the blame for the Heshuo Imperial Army. Qin Bao first publicly argued for the Western Army, pointing the finger at the Heshuo Forbidden Army, starting from the old accounts of the Five Dynasties period, and severely accused the Heshuo Forbidden Army of lack of discipline and low combat effectiveness, calling them "incapable of defending the country and capable of harming the people." He called on the imperial court to reuse the generals of the Western Army and clean up the discipline of the Heshuo Forbidden Army.This kind of accusation is not convincing. Not everyone in the Heshuo Forbidden Army is a big boss. Immediately, some generals wrote to the court, demanding justice from the court.The Heshuo Forbidden Army was already dissatisfied with the Western Army, and many generals of the Western Army held important positions in the Heshuo Forbidden Army, which made them even more dissatisfied.They believed that the Weinan mutiny was caused by the court's ignorance of Hebei and emphasis on the Western Army. It was the wrong policy of the court that put the generals of the Western Army in the wrong position, and the recklessness of the generals of the Western Army led to this tragedy.In their view, the generals of the Western Army should bear most of the responsibility for the mutiny of the Xiongwu Second Army.
The generals who submitted this memorial and signed it were soon severely reprimanded by the Shufu, and all of them were demoted and transferred from the imperial army.Song Ting was unwilling to see factional disputes in the army. Wen Yanbo resolutely suppressed the further deterioration of the situation, but this kind of handling made the Heshuo Forbidden Army feel that the court was biased towards the Western Army.Over the years, the Western Army has spread all over the Shufu, the Ministry of War, and the Sanya. The Heshuo Forbidden Army naturally regarded this as revenge from the Western Army. Wen Yanbo has a high prestige among the Heshuo Forbidden Army. They dare not have any dissatisfaction with the emperor and Wen Yanbo , but transferred the inner resentment to the Western Army who had been pressing on their heads.However, the strict discipline of the Western Army's discrimination against the Heshuo Forbidden Army also became more ingrained.
In fact, it wasn't just the Heshuo Forbidden Army or the Western Army that was under pressure, but the entire Great Song Forbidden Army.It's just that people are used to thinking about problems from their own standpoint, so both parties feel that they have been greatly wronged.
The accusations against the military are unanimous, and the huge negative impact can only be eliminated with time.As for the cases of Tang Kang and Tian Liewu, however, Qingyi showed polarization.They also hated and hated the Weinan Mutiny, but people's views on Tang Kang, Tian Liewu and others were completely different: most people regarded Tang and Tian as heroes and loyal ministers; He caused a catastrophe, and regarded him as a "dominant general" who was only one step away from the mutinous second army.
In the court, the ministers of the two governments admonished the academy, and they also had different opinions.Although the emperor wanted to pardon Tang, Tian and others in the name of "public opinion", he did not expect that the Weinan mutiny would greatly stimulate some Taiwan officials who admonished them. What these people thought of at this time was all the word "discipline". Zhang wrote a letter to support Ma Mo's judgment, and quoted scriptures to support his own views, from Emperor Taizu's demotion of Wang Shenqi, to Shi Yue's punishment of Zhongzhu and Yao Feng... Although the number of these officials is small, they have no scruples in their speech. On the contrary, it seemed amazing.Although Shi Yue wanted to excuse Tang Kang and Tian Liewu, he knew that his status was embarrassing and had to avoid the case.Not only Shi Yue, but even Wen Yanbo was forced to avoid him because of Tang Kang's relationship.
At this time, what surprised many people was that under such a situation, Lu Huiqing even made a public statement to defend Tang Kang, Tian Liewu and others.When both Shi Yue and Wen Yanbo were forced to avoid, Lu Huiqing's attitude was clear, and the opinions within the Political Affairs Hall were unexpectedly unanimous.Under the extremely unfavorable situation of public opinion in the Qing Dynasty, the compromise of the three important figures of the New Party, the Old Party, and the Shi Party on the case of Tang Kang and Tian Liewu finally helped Shi Yue stabilize his position. People become victims.
But the case was delayed once again.In the blink of an eye, it was July 15th.
It has been more than ten years since Xiao Youdan came to Bianjing again to celebrate the birthday of the Daliao Dynasty. However, the Duting Station on the north side of Zhouqiao Touxi Street has not changed in the past ten years. It has hundreds of gorgeous houses. The Duting Station in Dutingyi still doesn't feel crowded and noisy even after a huge mission with hundreds of people lives in it.Opposite Dutingyi, there is still the Liang family bead shop, I don't know when it was opened, but it looks like a century-old brand, and it has been prosperous for a long time.
Things have not changed, but people have.The post officials at Duting Xiyi have all changed their faces, and even the Liangjia Bead Shop opposite seems to have changed their young owner.The officials of the Southern Dynasties who were in charge of receiving Xiao Youdan also changed——Xiao Youdan came to Bianjing more than ten years ago, and he was just an ordinary middle-level official, but now he is the king of Daliao Wei, the privy envoy of the Northern Academy and the guard Situ, who is deeply loved by the Liao Dynasty. The Lord attaches great importance to him. He is not only extremely powerful in the Liao Kingdom, but also famous in the Song Dynasty.In order to receive the king of Wei of the Daliao Dynasty, who was famous for his resourcefulness, the Song Dynasty sent Li Qingchen, a scholar of the Imperial Academy, to Chenqiaoyi to meet him in person, and was responsible for the reception.And the Ministry of War has also mobilized all the elite soldiers and generals in Bianjing to protect and monitor the King Wei of the Liao Kingdom—now everyone knows that His Royal Highness the King Wei is also in charge of the most capable spies in the Liao Kingdom Agency "Communications Bureau".
Until now, whenever the word "Communication Bureau" is mentioned, it seems like a clear slap in the face of Sima Mengqiu and Zhifangguan, but it is the greatest pride of the Ministry of War since its establishment—— The Song Dynasty knew about the "General Affairs Bureau" for the first time, precisely because Xining had cracked a spy case in the Daming Mansion for sixteen years as a party secretary.But at this time, the Communications Bureau had been established for at least three years, and the spies of the Song Dynasty’s official office in the Liao Kingdom had always thought that the Communications Bureau, which was affiliated to the North Privy Council, was just an organization for translating documents—and the most let What is embarrassing is that after the Song Dynasty executed the secret agents of the Liao Kingdom in those famous mansions, the Liao Kingdom quickly arrested more than ten Song Dynasty spies and executed them all.The governor of Hebei Fang of the staff square was moved to the left because of this incident.Since there is only one letter difference between the two organizations, the Staff Fang Division and the Staff Fang Museum, many people are easily confused, but the two are by no means as close as their names. Look down on each other, not convinced.But no matter what, the officials of the Zhifang Division knew in their hearts that Sima Mengqiu's subordinates did not have any bags of wine and food, and since the Xixia incident, the focus of the Staff Fangguan has shifted to the Hebei Fang. Although the person in the palm of his hand had won a small victory, he did not dare to take it lightly.
Therefore, no matter what the Liao Kingdom said in a high-sounding manner, the Chief Fangsi absolutely refused to believe that Xiao Youdan had no other purpose behind his mission to Bianjing as a majestic King of Guards.From the moment Xiao Youdan entered the Song Dynasty, among the officials and soldiers of the Song Dynasty who were in charge of receiving the envoys from the Liao Kingdom, there were spies in charge of Fang Si almost everywhere.
Xiao Youdan clearly felt the existence of these figures.However, he just laughed it off.This is the territory of the Song Dynasty. What the Song people want to do is the Song people's business.Of course he didn't come to Bianjing simply to pay respects to Empress Dowager Gao's birthday, but he did have another mission.But his opponent was by no means the official secretary of the Song Dynasty.
Before all the members of the mission were settled properly, Xiao Youdan invited Li Qingchen to accompany him, and brought his deputy, Yelumeng, to personally submit the letter of credence to the National Letter Office of the Song Dynasty. When traveling to and from the National Trust Office, the chief officer was actually replaced by a scholar.He had known about the changes in the Southern Dynasties, but the magnitude of the changes was beyond his expectation.Originally, the Southern Dynasty official that Xiao Youdan was most afraid of was Shi Yue, but a few years ago when he heard that Shi Yue was left idle, he temporarily let go of a big stone in his heart. apprehension.After leaving the Guoxin Office and getting on the horse, Xiao Youdan couldn't help but sigh with emotion: "Fang Zhidu Pavilion has a feeling that things are right and people are wrong. When I got here, I realized that the Liang family's bead shop has changed to the young owner, which is really insignificant. "
Li Qingchen knew the meaning of his words, but he was not surprised to hear that Xiao Youdan even paid attention to such trivial matters as the owner of the Liang family's bead shop.Yin forced a smile and said: "Your Majesty is very familiar with the scenery of Bianjing."
Xiao Youdan heard the vigilance in his words, turned to look at him, and couldn't help but smile.
In the archives of the Bureau of General Affairs, there is a very detailed information about Li Qingchen, a scholar of the Song Dynasty. Xiao Youdan knew that he was Han Qi’s niece and son-in-law. The emperor of the Song Dynasty once praised it as "a material of good history".This person was in Emperor Yingzong's heart as early as Song Yingzong, but because Han Qi was the prime minister at the time, he refused to let his sons and nephews be promoted too quickly, so he was deliberately suppressed all the time.Li Qingchen is also familiar with the theory of yin and yang and five elements. When he was serving as a criminal prison on Jingdong Road, he was famous for his ability to catch robbers. The green forest heroes in Qilu were afraid of Li Qingchen. trembling.After the new official system, Han Zhongyan was appreciated by Zhao Xu for his family background and Li Qingchen for his articles. Li Qingchen served as a servant for several times, and he was also a scholar of the Imperial Academy. The officials, Li Qingchen and Han Zhongyan, were the two candidates most likely to enter the political affairs hall and become the new governor of the Song Dynasty.
Therefore, Xiao Youdan also paid special attention to Li Qingchen, and did not regard him as an ordinary "ci minister" or "library partner".
"Bachelors don't mean that there is no one in the Northern Dynasty. If you are familiar with the things in the Southern Dynasty, you can't count them alone." Xiao Youdan said with a casual smile.After leaving the Guoxin Office, Xiao Youdan saw that the shops on the street were selling necromancers, boots and shoes, gold rhinoceros fake belts, colorful clothes, etc., and asked with a smile: "I almost forgot that today is the Ghost Festival. Did you already buy the Obon? I don’t know if this winter will be warm or cold?”
What he was talking about was a custom in the Song Dynasty. The Zhongyuan Festival was a festival that Song people attached great importance to. In addition to offering sacrifices to ancestors, the women in the family would use bamboo slices to weave basins, hold paper money, and burn them with bamboo supports. Look at the basins. After igniting, tell which side to turn to predict the temperature in winter. If it is turned to the north, it is a cold winter; if it is turned to the south, it is a warm winter;These folk customs were originally trivial matters, but Xiao Youdan even knew about them, which made Li Qingchen even more afraid all his life.Yin laughed and said, "It's not God's will that the winter is cold and warm. What the people care most about is not the weather, but the government."
"Excellent words." Xiao Youdan praised.Everyone rode slowly, and chatted about the customs and habits of the Song and Liao dynasties. Li Qingchen felt that he knew the Liao Kingdom quite well, but compared to Xiao Youdan's understanding of the Song Dynasty, he felt ashamed and ashamed. .He was sighing secretly in his heart, but he saw Xiao Youdan suddenly reined in his horse and stopped at a meat pie shop on the side of the street, turned his head to look at himself, and said with a smile: "I haven't been to Bianjing for more than ten years, and suddenly I moved my index finger, wanting to disturb the bachelor." ..."
Li Qingchen couldn't help being startled, and saw Xiao Youdan pouted towards the guards, lowered his voice, and said with a smile: "To tell you the truth, bachelor, when I saw this meatloaf shop, I suddenly thought of Granny Cao's meatloaf, and I got a little greedy. But If you bring these people with you, it won't be very interesting. Why don't you change into white clothes and go eat yourself."
This Granny Cao meatloaf was originally a very famous shop in Bianjing. Li Qingchen had eaten it before he was rich, but now that he is a public minister, it is no longer convenient to go to that kind of place.Unexpectedly, Xiao Youdan made such a request suddenly, he couldn't help being taken aback, felt embarrassed immediately, hesitated and said: "Your Majesty's daughter, if there is an accident, I can't afford it. If your majesty wants to eat too much, just order it, and I will take care of it." Wouldn't it be better to ask someone to send it to the posthouse?"
"What's the point of that?" Xiao Youdan shook his head and said, "If you are afraid of something happening, you don't have to worry about it. Even if a bachelor can't trust my martial arts, can't you trust the official secretary of your country?"
Li Qingchen blushed unconsciously after being pointed at by him, and quickly covered it up with a smile: "Your Majesty is joking."
Xiao Youdan watched Li Qingchen for a long time, and suddenly burst out laughing.
After returning to Dutingyi, because of the order of the Empress Dowager, all the Taoist temples and temples in the capital held a general assembly, burned money on the mountain, and paid homage to the soldiers and civilians who died in the battle since Xining and the soldiers and civilians who died in Weinan County. For the ceremony, Li Qingchen had to attend the sacrifice; and Xiao Youdan also had to meet with the envoys of the Liao Kingdom in Bianjing, and it was not convenient for Song Dynasty officials to be present.Li Qingchen pleaded guilty to Xiao Youdan and left Dutingyi.
The newly built embassy of the Liao Kingdom is not far from Dutingyi, just south of Touxi Street.At that time, the embassies of various countries still followed the old habits. For example, the Korean embassy was built near the Tongwen Hall in Anzhou Lane outside Liangmen. It was the place where the Korean envoys were received in the Song Dynasty. The envoys of Jiaozhi and other countries in the South China Sea are all located near Huaiyuan Post.
According to Song and Liao diplomatic practices, after the mission enters the other country, all reception and security are entirely in the responsibility of the host.Therefore, even though King Wei was on a mission, the Liao embassy was inconvenient to go to Chenqiao post to meet him, so he only sent someone to wait at Duting post. Li Qingchen walked on the front foot, but he arrived on the back foot.
Han Tuo Gulie was originally from Bohai, and he was a slave. He was abandoned for some reason when he was young. A noble family named Han in Liao Kingdom found him in Tuo Gulie and called him Tuo Gulie.Because of her cleverness since she was a child, she was chosen by her master to study with the young master. She is regarded as a rare talent who can remember everything in Khitan and Chinese.Later, Lord Yelujun of the Liao Dynasty came to the throne and opened the imperial examination. The Han family asked him to take the exam for the young master, but unexpectedly won the provincial yuan.During the palace examination, Yelujun saw the flaw.Not only did Yelujun not pursue the crimes committed by the Han family and Tuo Gulie, but he ransomed for him and gave him the surname Han.In a few years, Tuo Gulie was promoted to Linya of the North Academy with his wit and writing.Two years ago, he was entrusted with an important task as the envoy of the Liao Kingdom in the Song Dynasty.
After Tuo Gulie arrived in Bianjing, he won the favor of the emperor and scholar-bureaucrats of the Song Dynasty with his articles and talents.And his bizarre life experience adds a mysterious aura to him.With his outstanding diplomatic skills, Tuo Gulie won many diplomatic benefits for the Liao Kingdom.Moreover, during his tenure, the Liao Kingdom's spy work against the Song Dynasty also made unprecedented progress.Relying on the friendship with the scholar-bureaucrats of the Song Dynasty, every time the Song Dynasty sent important officials to Hebei, Hedong, and Jingdong, the resumes of the officials from this side often came before the Liao Lord's case before they left Beijing. Because they were good at Danqing, sometimes they even included His own portrait.For Han Tuo Gulie's talent, Liao Lord and Xiao Youdan are very sure.
Seeing Tuo Gulie coming in at this time, Xiao Youdan quickly got up to greet him.Tuo Gulie had bowed down long ago, and said in Khitan dialect: "Your official kowtows to the king."
"Lin Ya doesn't need to be too polite." Xiao Youdan hurriedly stepped forward to help him, and also smiled and replied in Khitan dialect, "One farewell for two or three years, Lin Ya's spirit is even better than before."
Tuo Gulie refused to get up, and asked respectfully: "I don't know if Your Majesty's dragon body is safe?"
"Your Majesty is in excellent health." Xiao Youdan replied with a smile, and then Tuo Gulie got up.The Khitan people don't have too complicated etiquette, they salute Xiao Youdan first, and then ask Liao Lord if he is well, neither of them agree.
Xiao Youdan looked at Tuo Gulie again, saw that his complexion was much fairer, and said with a smile: "Lin Ya got a good job, Bianjing is a good place."
"Bianjing is indeed a good place. A few months ago, Xiaguan met a big food merchant. He said that Bianjing is the 'City of Paradise' and the most prosperous city in the world. I'm afraid it's not a lie." Tuo Gulie laughed He replied that he was Xiao Youdan's old subordinate, and the two talked very casually.
"However, the land of prosperity and gentleness is not a good place to sharpen one's will. Only the northern wind can temper brave and strong warriors."
Tuo Gulie smiled and nodded, the two were talking, but they heard someone outside the door saying: "My lord, Xueshi Li sent someone to bring Granny Cao's meat pies, as well as mutton from the cooked mutton shop on the east side of Yuan Street, and various fruit snacks. "
"Let's put it down first, it's nothing important, don't bother me." Xiao Youdan ordered, and the door answered.Xiao Youdan turned his head and saw Tuo Gulie looking at him in surprise, he said with a smile after repeating what happened just now: "What does Lin Ya think of Li Qingchen?"
Tuo Gulie pondered for a while, and said: "Intelligence and writing are rare in the world, but broad-mindedness is not enough."
Xiao Youdan nodded and smiled and said: "If Shi Yue is replaced, he will definitely accompany me to Granny Cao's place to eat a few meatloaf, let's see what kind of mystery I make. I keep showing off, but it's just to try, although he knows what's in his heart Fear doesn't necessarily mean that you don't have the ability to deal with it, but if you lack responsibility, no matter how much talent you have, you will be suffocated."
Tuo Gulie couldn't help but smile: "Accompany King Wei of the Liao Kingdom to eat Granny Cao's meat pie without permission, and being impeached by Taiwan's admonishment for impoliteness, wouldn't it ruin Li Xueshi's bright future? There are rumors in Bianjing that Li Xueshi might do it. Even if Fan Chunren changes his mind, the minister of the Ministry of Punishment will be the minister of the Ministry of Rites at worst."
Xiao Youdan shook his head: "In a bureau like this, you can only be a local prince, a scholar of the Imperial Academy, but not a minister. Thinking about how decisive he was to set up a prison on Jingdong Road, how decisive was he to kill. After entering the city of Bianjing, he went to Afraid of wolves and tigers, I don’t even dare to eat a piece of Granny Cao’s meat pie with me. The word Lilu, I don’t know how many heroes I’m tired of!”
"What your majesty sees is very true." Tuo Gulie said with a smile, but turned the topic to the main topic, and asked, "The majesty's envoy to the Southern Dynasty is not only for the celebration of the birthday, but how can the majesty be free for the military and political affairs of the North Academy?" As an envoy?"
Xiao Youdan suddenly fell silent.After a while, he sighed and said: "If it is not a last resort, I will not come to Nanchao. I have to see the situation in Nanchao with my own eyes, and meet the monarchs and ministers of Nanchao, so that I can know what to do next."
Tuo Gulie heard him speak solemnly, and couldn't help but be solemn: "What happened?"
Xiao Youdan shook his head and sighed: "This fact is unprecedented..."
The difficulties encountered by the Liao Dynasty are actually closely related to the Song Dynasty.Since the Chanyuan Alliance, the Song Dynasty has given the Liao State every year the "year gift". Although it was humiliating to the Song Dynasty, it played a vital role in the Liao State treasury.However, since the revival of the Song Dynasty, civil strife in Liao, and changes in strength and weakness, the two sides have not only canceled the Song Dynasty's "year gift" to the Liao Dynasty in the new covenant, but were forced to open up trade between the two countries.However, although the yearly gift was cancelled, the demand for the silk and silk of the Song Dynasty by the nobles of the Liao Kingdom did not decrease, and it was impossible for the nobles to really give up their luxurious life. Rewards for the army and officials—for the Liao Kingdom, gold, silver, silk, silk, etc. can even be said to be the necessities of life, and these necessities either need to be purchased from the Song Dynasty, or are being exported to the Song Dynasty in large quantities.
The trade structure of the Song and Liao Dynasties was that the merchants of the Song Dynasty not only imported a large amount of luxury goods to Liao, but also many of the necessities of life and commodities between necessities and luxuries.Among them, there are not only cotton cloth, salt, and ironware, which are cheaper and better than those in the Liao Dynasty, but also mainly smuggled iron farm tools; there are also books, porcelain, spices, silk, popular high-concentration wine, and unique sugarcane wine. It is difficult to tell whether the goods are luxury goods or necessities... In addition, the official arms trade between the two countries is also a large volume.The Liao Kingdom exported to the Song Dynasty mainly medicinal materials, fur, pearls, rams, bulls, and stallions.
This is an extremely asymmetric trade, which will inevitably lead to the outflow of a large amount of hard currency, but gold, silver, and copper are also necessities in the Liao Kingdom itself, and the contradictions intensify.In the absence of hard currency, money is more important than goods in the territory of Liao, and it suffers even more from trade.The Lord of Liao had to unilaterally violate the covenant, promulgated a decree to prohibit the import of salt in the Song Dynasty, and obtained a necessary amount of money through the salt monopoly.Although under the efforts of Tuo Gulie, the matter was forgiven by the Song Dynasty.But this is at the expense of the people of the Liao Kingdom not being able to eat good salt, and the trade of smuggling salt has been rampant.Therefore, this move only eased the crisis in Liao, but did not fundamentally solve the problem.
On the other hand, the Song Dynasty was not actually a beneficiary, but neither side realized it.The hard currency flowing out of the Liao Kingdom is enough to cause great harm to the Liao Kingdom, but it has limited effect on the Song Dynasty.
The trade volume between the two countries continued to decline. Although the Liao Lord intended to advocate self-sufficiency, all classes in the Liao Kingdom did not agree to return to the grassland to live—even the Liao Lord did not have this idea. The nobles wanted luxury goods, and ordinary people wanted more Cheap necessities, both aristocrats and commoners, demanded fine wine from the Song Dynasty, and spices from the Song Dynasty - there was no one who was not religious.Therefore, completely cutting off the trade between the two countries will do far more damage to the Liao Kingdom than to the Song Dynasty. This has been proved decades and hundreds of years ago.
However, in any country, if there is too little money, it will lead to the impediment of business travel, which will further lead to the shortage of department stores, thus causing the economy to stagnate.Liao is no exception to this.The so-called "self-sufficient" "small peasant economy" imagined by some historians has never appeared in real history—it has appeared in Lao Tzu's fantasy.
The Liao Kingdom does not want to see the trade between the two countries shrink, but the Liao Kingdom also does not want to see copper coins become a scarce item in its own treasury and within its own country.
But the dilemma they face is that they always have to take one of these two paths that they are unwilling to take.
The monarchs and ministers of the Liao Kingdom can be regarded as wise and wise ministers. However, in the face of this unprecedented situation, if they had to choose, they could only choose the former—prohibiting the circulation of certain goods in the Song Dynasty in the country, and imposing high taxes on Song Dynasty goods.Doing so will inevitably provoke countermeasures from the Song Dynasty. The Song Dynasty is likely to simply close border trade. For the Liao Kingdom, whether it is an overly open comprehensive trade or a complete severance of trade between the two countries, it is a disaster.If the trade between the two countries is cut off, Liao will have to rob in order to obtain some Song Dynasty goods.Therefore, the Song Dynasty had to fight back.Therefore, the history that has been staged countless times on the border of northern China will repeat itself again...
And today's Daliao, today's Dal Song, if this scene really happened, it would be tragic.
The monarchs and ministers of the Liao Kingdom did not want to see this scene, because they knew very well that going to war with the present-day Song Dynasty would probably risk subjugation of the country, and the best outcome would be that both sides would suffer.
However, they seem to have no other way.Personal will is simply insignificant at this time.
Xiao Youdan's mission to Song this time is to shoulder such a heavy responsibility - he wants to find a new way for the Liao Kingdom.If he can't find it, then he will also find a way to win the war for Liao.
Facing such a historic problem, no matter how clever Tuo Gulie was, he was helpless.After a long while, the other party asked a little disbelievingly: "Has the situation really deteriorated to this point?"
Xiao Youdan didn't care about the impoliteness of his words, but said with a wry smile: "During the chaos, the imperial court confiscated the property of many nobles. Including the income from the salt, it has not reached the point where we have to fight each other immediately. But If things go on like this, there will always be that day. We have to prepare earlier. Whether it is the Khitan people, the Bohai people, or the Han people, the one who wins the hearts of the people always wins the world. To the people of the Song Dynasty. In fact, the people’s grievances are already boiling, the court oppressed the barbarians, and rebellions continued one after another..."
"If the Song Dynasty promises to restore the trade between the two countries to a limited border market..."
"That's useless." Xiao Youdan shook his head and said, "Why do the barbarians on the grassland like to fight? Isn't it because they will definitely suffer losses if they do business? The trade between the imperial court and the Southern Dynasties, large-scale losses, large-scale small losses, always It is unavoidable. Besides, we cannot expect the nobles to live frugally, and the scale cannot be small. The pressure of the nobles alone is already unbearable, let alone they can still use the name of the common people? In all fairness, trade to the common people is still It brought a lot of benefits, but because the gold, silver and copper flowed out too much, the benefits turned into disadvantages—but this reasoning did not make sense to those villagers and herdsmen. Those who use copper coins to buy food from the people are The imperial court, it is the imperial court that gives rewards to the soldiers, they only see that the same grain is sold for less and less money, and the rewards issued by the imperial court are also less and less..."
Tuo Gulie couldn't help being silent, and after a long time, he asked again: "So, does Your Majesty have a good plan?"
"There are a few more goods that are prohibited from entering the country, and the tariffs need to be increased—especially cotton cloth, silk, etc. This will always ease it." Xiao Youdan said, "Actually, I have no idea, but there are many outstanding people in the Southern Dynasty. , Maybe it is not necessary to go to that step. But..." He lowered his voice and said, "The emperor and the ministers in the court actually have no hope for this."
"Ah?!" Tuo Gulie cried out in shock, and said hastily, "Your Majesty, you must not start a war. You must not underestimate the Southern Dynasty because it is trapped in Yizhou. The Southern Dynasty today must not be insulted!"
Xiao Youdan sighed, and said: "How can I not understand this truth? With Shi Yue and Sima Guang in the court, how can the Southern Dynasty be so easy to fight? However, no matter what, this matter is a secret, and Lin Ya must not reveal it. Jun In the Southern Dynasties, we must try our best to create an atmosphere of harmony between the two countries."
"Your Majesty, you can rest assured." Tuo Gulie nodded and said, "The imperial court really wants to fight, and the lower officials should be loyal ministers first."
Xiao Youdan stared at Tuo Gulie, and sighed: "The emperor often said that Tuo Gulie is a national soldier, who can be entrusted with life and death. The emperor knows people better than I can."