Chapter 38 Chapter 8: The Truth About the Chamber of Secrets

Let's say that Zhao Cheshu led all the people into the inner hall, took down the green lamp from the bracket, and pressed the shaft of the pole into the wall until it reached the end.But there was a soft sound, and a wall in the corner of the room suddenly moved away, revealing a doorway.Su Gong and Zhao Huaishan suddenly realized that the machine spring was actually the shaft of the green lantern.The aisle in the wall is very narrow, only allowing one person to pass sideways.Zhao Cheshutou led the way, Zhao Huaishan, Xie Shi, Zhao Huaizhong, Zhao Huaiyuan, Su Ren followed in turn, followed by Su Gong and Shan Polu.The secret passage slanted down more than ten steps, and suddenly turned right, and it suddenly became clear: the secret room was like a hall, with four ever-burning lamps at the four corners, and the room was full like daytime.In the room, there is a statue of a general, holding a long sword, righteous and lifelike, and there is an incense table below, offering incense candles and fruits, and there is a tablet in the center with the words: A generation of loyal ministers Zhenyuan General Shan Gong Zhongyuan.

Shan Polu saw it, had to go in the morning, knelt down on the ground, and cried bitterly.Zhao Cheshu burst into tears and trembled all over.Su Gong sighed.However, there are many small characters engraved on the right side of the room wall. If you look closely, it is actually the names, surnames, years and origins of three thousand soldiers.Su Gong paid a sudden respect.There is a long scroll on the left side of the chamber wall, called "Three Thousand Generals and Soldiers".Zhao Cheshu ordered Zhao Huaishan to take a camphor wood box and put it on the incense table. After burning nine sticks of fine incense, they inserted them into the incense burner, bowed three times, and said, "General Shan, this box is your father's relic. Zhao Cheshu I will deliver it to you today." He took the wooden box and handed it over to Shan Polu.Shan Polu took the wooden box, opened the lid, and found a brocade box and a yellow cloth bundle inside.Spreading out the burden, I saw a short knife inside, the scabbard was very delicate, and there were strange characters on it, which no one could recognize; the handle of the knife was engraved with the five characters "Suzhou Danzhongyuan".Shan Polu drew out his short blade, and the cold light struck people.Zhao Cheshu said: "This knife is the thing that your lord defeated the Liao army and surrendered to the enemy chief." He opened a brocade box again, which contained a red silk cloth bag and a pair of white jade bracelets in the silk, which were crystal clear.There are two letterheads and a volume of handwriting under it.Zhao Che wrote: "This bracelet was entrusted to the old lady by Brother Zhongyuan. Of the two family letters, one is to the general and the other is to the old lady. There is also a volume of handwriting, which is the way your father has used soldiers for many years. Thinking about what you think, having unique insights, is really a rare art of war." Shan Polu opened the letter paper, and it turned out to be his father's handwriting.Seeing a book is like seeing a person, Shan Polu couldn't help crying loudly.

Su Gong came forward and sighed: "People have sorrows and joys, and the moon has cloudy and sunny periods. The old general Shan is impassioned and sees death as home. How tragic is this move! If General Shan cries like a woman, wouldn't it hurt the old general Shan?" Majesty?" Shan Polu kowtowed to the ground and said, "Old General, please accept my nephew's bow." After saying that, he kowtowed and bowed.Zhao Cheshu hurriedly supported him, and said sadly: "My nephew is suffering." Shan Polu regretted: "My nephew has no eyes, doesn't know good and bad, offends the old general again and again, and smears his father's name. My nephew is ashamed of my father!" Che Shu said sadly and joyfully: "Nephew, don't blame yourself." Su Gong secretly wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes, laughed and said, "That's good, that's good. Su's head can be saved." Everyone laughed through their tears.

Zhao Cheshu quoted Su Gong, Shan Polu and his three sons to view "The Picture of Three Thousand Generals and Soldiers", but he saw thousands of soldiers, gold and iron horses, bloody sleeves, flying arrowheads, going forward bravely, advancing one after another, and heroically killing the enemy. The momentum is very majestic.Su Gong exclaimed: "People in the world only know Tian Heng's 800 soldiers, but they don't know my 3,000 soldiers from the Central Plains." Su Ren said: "Old general, can you wait for me to hear about the shocking and weeping ghosts and gods?" Mr. Su nodded repeatedly, and said, "Su Ren's words are very true. As a citizen of the Great Song Dynasty, I don't know about this battle, it makes me feel ashamed If the truth is not revealed to the world, it will be a burden to the ancestors and future generations." Zhao Cheshu said sadly: "Although this battle has become a cloud of smoke, it is as if it happened yesterday, and it is vivid in my mind."

It turns out that since Emperor Taizong of the Song Dynasty, Song and Liao have fought each other year after year, with each winning and losing.In the first year of Zhenzong Jingde, Liao sent 200,000 troops to attack the Song Dynasty. Zhenzong was very frightened. Wang Qinruo, the deputy prime minister, advocated that Zhenzong move the capital to Jinling, and Chen Yaosou, the minister, advised Zhenzong to flee to Shuzhong.Prime Minister Kou Zhun strongly advocated the resistance against Liao Dynasty, and Zhenzong followed Kou Zhun's words.The Song army set up an ambush and shot Xiao Dalan, the leader of the Liao army. The Liao army was terrified and wanted to negotiate a peace.Zhenzong had long wanted to make peace, and regardless of Kou Zhun's opposition, he signed the Chanyuan alliance with the Liao Dynasty, promising to give Liaosui coins 100,000 taels of silver and 200,000 bolts of silk.In the second year of Renzong's Qingli reign, the Liao State threatened again. In order to ensure peace, Renzong added 100,000 taels of silver and 100,000 bolts of silk.Even so, the Liao Kingdom was still dissatisfied.

Shaziling Pass, a key border pass in the Song Dynasty, is the place where Tongliao and Xixia must pass through. The terrain is dangerous and it is a place that military strategists must contend for.There are 50,000 Song troops stationed at this pass, and the commander is Cai Yun, who is a Jinshi Jingyou.Cai Yun is treacherous, greedy and lustful. In Jiayou's three years, he was exposed for malpractice, embezzlement and bribery.Renzong was furious, so he cut his post.Because a group of sycophants asked for protection, Cai Yun was demoted as a deputy envoy to guard Shaziling Pass.At that time, there were generals Shan Zhongyuan and Zhao Cheshu in Shaziling Pass. They were full of passion and heart of Lingyun, and because their origins were adjacent, they shared the same loyalty and brotherhood.The 50,000 elite soldiers at Shaziling Pass are well-trained, brave and good at fighting, when the Khitan heard about it, all of them changed face, and they hadn't invaded for several years.I don't want Cai Yun to come to this point, spend all day drinking, hunting in the mountains, neglecting military affairs, and a group of villains will follow his favor, and the party compares Zhou and crowds out Zhongliang.Shan Zhongyuan was upright and upright, and repeatedly offered advice, but Cai Yun would never listen, and often avoided seeing him, and because of the villain's slander, he harbored hatred for a long time.

There was a group of generals in the Dao army, named Qin Jing, who was denounced by the sergeant for withholding food and pay.When Shan Zhongyuan found out about this, he was furious, beat him with fifty army sticks, and expelled him from the barracks.Qin Jing harbored a grudge, so he went to Cai Yun and falsely accused Shan Zhongyuan of acting for the public and avenging his private revenge, and said: "My lord, Shan Zhongyuan is ambitious, so we must guard against it." Harmful to the single heart, he secretly discussed with a group of villains, ordered Qin Jing to buy soldiers, spread rumors, and confuse the soldiers.

Zhao Cheshu heard the rumors in the army and was shocked, so he asked his confidants to inquire about the reason secretly.Within three days, his confidants reported back, saying that it was Cai Yun and Qin Jing's group who deliberately harmed General Shan.Zhao Cheshu was surprised and told Shan Zhongyuan.Shan Zhongyuan said with a smile: "If you are upright, you are afraid of the shadow. The clean ones are clean, and the honest are clean. Shan is dedicated to serving the court. Why are you afraid of rumors?" Destroy and destroy the bones. You must guard against the words of the villain." Shan Zhongyuan said: "What can I do? Could it be that Shan ignores it and lets it go?" Zhao Cheshu said: "Confucius said: I can't bear it. We will guard the border, the real enemy is the Khitan. Absolutely don’t argue with Cai Yun and other villains. If you do, you may be taken advantage of by the Khitan. It’s better to stay away from him and go to guard the valley entrance in the north of the mountain.” Shan Central Plains.When Zhao Cheshu saw Cai Yun, he said, "That single Central Plains is proud of its merits and has no one in its eyes. Why don't you cut its power?" Cai Hui said happily, "What's the general's plan?" , it’s better to transfer him here.” Cai Yun laughed and said, “That’s very good. Cai doesn’t want to see this person.” So he transferred the Central Plains to guard the valley entrance in Lingbei.

In the fourth year of Jiayou, Khitan raised 30,000 troops to harass the border of Song Dynasty, slaughter the people of Song Dynasty, plunder cattle and sheep, rape women, and burn down houses. The vanguard is approaching the Shaziling pass.When Cai Yun, the guard at the Shaziling Pass, heard about it, he panicked and rode eight hundred miles to report to the capital.Renzong was shocked when he saw the letter of wax paint, so he wrote an imperial decree and sent it to Shaziling Pass quickly.Cai Yun was burning with anxiety, looking forward to the holy will, and looked anxiously: "The Khitan invaded for no reason, trying to lure me to send troops. You can only stick to it, and you must not go out to fight. If the enemy comes to force the city, wait in silence, and no one will come out to refuse. When the arrows and stones are within reach, use magic to break them; if the enemy's lord will come by himself, take advantage of his convenience, shoot with a strong crossbow, fly stones and kill him, the enemy will be depressed, and he will surely flee; if the enemy claims surrender and peace , don’t be slack, and should be more defensive, so as not to deceive me.”

Cai Yun summoned all the generals, read out the holy will, and then said: "The bandits are very strong, I can only wait for them to fade away. All ministries should follow the words of the Holy Majesty, prepare more stone bows and crossbows to prevent the bandits from attacking the city." Suddenly saw a person The way out of the squad: "The last general thought that soldiers were established by deceit, moved by profit, and changed by division and combination. Therefore, those who are good at using soldiers will see the enemy's weakness and take advantage of it." Everyone looked at it. It is a single Central Plains.Cai Yun sneered and said: "It's nonsense. A thief who comes to challenge someone from afar wants to be attacked. If this is the case, isn't he playing into the thief's trick? You wait for the meaning of the sage, if you disobey, you will definitely be executed." Shan Zhongyuan He couldn't make any suggestions, so he had to step aside.

Cai Yun led the generals to the top of the city, and saw the Khitan vanguard from a distance, overwhelming a large area, he couldn't help being frightened, he made a quick inspection, entrusted the defense military affairs to Zhao Cheshu, and then hurried back to the residence.Zhao Cheshu and other generals all sighed: These civil servants are greedy for life and afraid of death, so they can only sing, dance, drink and eat. How can they lead troops to fight against the enemy? It is also said that the Khitan vanguard was stationed outside the Shaziling Pass and sent cavalry to scout everywhere every day. For several days, the Song army closed the city gate and stood firm.The Khitan general thought that the Song army would be timid, so he sent more than ten riders to the city to yell and provoke.For three days like this, the Song soldiers ignored them, and the Khitan soldiers became more and more rampant.On the fourth day, Zhao Cheshu ordered more than a hundred soldiers to scold each other.When Cai Yun heard this, he was overjoyed and said: "This is my first victory in the Song Dynasty." So he wrote a book about the victory, which inevitably added extra details and exaggerated words.Today, he ordered eight hundred miles to ride quickly to the capital to show his merits. On the fifth day, Khitan soldiers dragged out dozens of people from the camp.The Song soldiers on the city could see them from a distance, they were very curious, when they got to the city pass, they saw clearly that they were all border people of the Great Song Dynasty, men, women and children, crying and stumbling, if there was any slowness, the Khitan soldiers would whip them fiercely, it was very miserable.When Song Bing saw it, he was furious and cursed loudly.The Khitan soldiers forced all the people to kneel down and kowtow for mercy.Under the despotic power, all the people had no choice but to obey.The Khitan soldiers all laughed.The Song soldiers kept yelling, and there were those who were good at archers, who bent their bows and shot at the enemy, but the bandits were so far away that the arrows couldn't reach them. A soldier reported to Zhao Cheshu, Zhao Cheshu hurried to the top of the city, saw this, he was furious, so he took a strong bow, shot an arrow, and hit a Khitan soldier.The Khitan soldier was killed immediately.All the Song soldiers cheered when they saw it.When the Khitan soldiers saw their comrades lost their lives, they were all furious, they drew their knives one after another, and chopped them off together, only to see more than a dozen people from the Song Dynasty with their heads in different places, and died in an instant. All the soldiers of the Song Dynasty were furious after witnessing the tragedy, and they called for a fight one after another, wanting to kill the enemy to avenge their shame.Zhao Cheshu hurriedly invited Cai Yun to the top of the city, saying: "The Khitan dog thieves killed my border people and humiliated my Song Dynasty. It is tolerable, but which one is unbearable! May the Lord give the order to go out and kill the thieves." Cautiously, Cai Yun poked his head Looking over, he saw Khitan soldiers strip off the clothes of the remaining 20 to 30 civilians, all of them were naked, it was unbearably cold.What's more, the Khitan soldiers dragged several women aside and raped them wantonly. The Song army at the head of the city became more and more angry when they saw it.Zhao Che Shuanjian glared and said: "Master Cai, the Khitan dog thief is like a beast. If you don't kill the dog thief, I will be ashamed of the Holy Majesty, and I will have no face to see the people of the Song Dynasty! Please make a quick decision, my lord!" Cai Yun said with a smile "If you can't bear it, you will make a big conspiracy. One word, forbearance! General Zhao, don't get angry in vain, you must learn to forbear. This is deliberately done by the Khitan bandit soldiers, trying to lure me out of the customs. How could I fall into his trick? A few common people, what are they worth? Let him kill them, how can he kill all the common people in Song Dynasty? We only follow the order of the Holy Majesty, let the Khitan thieves provoke us, and can't hold on, what can he do to me?" After saying that, he waved Sleeve away.Zhao Cheshu gritted his teeth, wishing he could end Cai Yun's life with one blow.All the generals were angry and said: "The last general is willing to obey the general's dispatch." Zhao Cheshu was silent. After getting down to the top of the city, Zhao Cheshu went straight to the North Pass.Seeing this, the army soldiers at Beiguankou hurriedly reported to the general, and Shan Zhongyuan hurriedly came to meet him.The two entered the army tent, and before they were seated, Zhao Cheshu brought the Khitan beasts under the city pass one by one.When Shan Zhongyuan heard this, he jumped up against the case and said angrily, "Khitan dog thief, is there no one in the Great Song Dynasty who bullies me?" Zhao Cheshu said, "Khitan's intentions are becoming clearer day by day. I'm afraid a big war is imminent." Shan Zhongyuan thought: " Cai Yun's words are not unreasonable. The Khitan provoked me for no reason and wanted to lure me to send troops. If the two armies fight, I am afraid that it will not be the enemy of the bandits." Zhao Cheshu said angrily: "Could it be that Brother Zhongyuan is also afraid of the Khitan bandits like Cai Yun No way? As the saying goes: Sad soldiers will win, proud soldiers will lose. Now the people of our Great Song Dynasty are humiliated, the soldiers are filled with righteous indignation, and their morale is very high. If you kill the generals, everyone is like a fierce tiger. What are you afraid of?" Shan Zhongyuan said: "The Khitan thieves are good at riding and shooting, and their forwards are especially tough. If I fight to the death, even if we narrowly win, there will be a lot of casualties. I am not a good person. According to the Central Plains, we should use tactics, with my least Death and injury will win." Zhao Cheshu asked, "Brother Zhongyuan, do you have a good strategy?" Shan Zhongyuan said: "The military strategist said: "Use righteousness to win by surprise. If the enemy attacks the city, I will not be able to defend it. I will secretly lead a surprise army." , detour and break the enemy's rear formation. The rear formation is already in disarray, and the enemy in front must be terrified. When the formation is in chaos, most of us will fight out from the city and attack front and rear, and we will surely defeat the enemy soldiers." Zhao Cheshu said: "If it is good, That’s good. It’s just against the holy will. If you blame me, I’m afraid I won’t be able to bear the blame.” Shan Zhongyuan resolutely said: “The ancients said: the general is out, and the king’s order is not acceptable. For the safety of our country, the country, the people, and the common people Live and work in peace and contentment, even if you suffer from crimes, you will not look back." Zhao Cheshu said worriedly: "Then Cai Yun is greedy for life and afraid of death, how dare he defy the holy will and follow my plan?" Shan Zhongyuan was silent, pacing in the tent, thinking about the past and the future.Zhao Cheshu said: "It's better for me to lead all the generals to remonstrate to the death. If he doesn't obey, he will be imprisoned and his military power will be dismissed." Shan Zhongyuan sighed: "The ancients said: It is not enough for a certain time to not seek forever. This matter Take a long-term plan, and you must not blind your eyes to see Mount Tai." Zhao Cheshu asked suspiciously: "What does Brother Zhongyuan mean by this?" Shan Zhongyuan said: "The Khitan and Xixia thieves are not dead-hearted, they can make an inch, stare at them, and want to invade our territory. But the current court does not repair it. Military equipment, with a secret heart for security, coupled with the lack of troops at the border, most of the guards are literati and few generals. How can we forget the long-term safety of the border because of a temporary war?" Zhao Cheshu didn't understand what he meant, and said: " I hope Brother Zhongyuan will speak clearly." Shan Zhongyuan said: "According to what brother Che Shu said, even if we win the battle for a while, the Khitan bandit soldiers will go and come back again, and the two of us will be punished by the court for imprisoning Cai Yun, disobeying the holy will, and sending troops without authorization. , even if we don’t die, we won’t be able to escape prison. At that time, who will come to protect the border? Could it be Cai Yunhu?” Zhao Cheshu was speechless.Shan Zhongyuan said with a smile: "Brother Che Shu should stay at the border, and this battle will be handed over to Shan. Tomorrow night, I will lead three thousand elite soldiers, detour and attack the rear. When the fire starts, brother Che Shu can Let the soldiers and horses in the city shout loudly, beat gold and beat drums, pretending to attack. The bandit soldiers will surely retreat in fear." Zhao Cheshu applauded, saying, "That's very good." The two discussed carefully, and when the appointment reached their son, Zhao Cheshu just said goodbye and left.Early the next morning, Zhao Cheshu transferred bows and arrows, horses, fire salt and other military supplies to the north pass.Zhao Cheshu instructed: "Brother Zhongyuan, go and return as soon as possible on this trip, and don't love to fight. Che Shu will secretly send people to meet him." Shan Zhongyuan took out a cloth bag and handed it to Zhao Cheshu, saying: "If If there is an accident, I will give this thing to my wife and children in Suzhou." Zhao Cheshu took the cloth bag and said with a smile: "Cheshu has prepared good wine, and I just wait for Brother Zhongyuan to drink it." Shan Zhongyuan laughed. In the night of that day, Shan Zhongyuan personally led 3000 elite soldiers, marched quietly, detoured to the rear of the Khitan army, entered the enemy camp in two ways, left and right, and set fire to the enemy's food and grass tents.The Khitan soldiers woke up from their dreams, only thinking that the Song army had come to kill them, and fled in a hurry.Those who failed were either burned to death in tents, killed by the Song army, or trampled to death by people and horses.Zhao Cheshu at Shaziling Pass was so excited that he beat the drums and ordered, and more than ten thousand Song soldiers shouted loudly, resounding through the sky.The Khitan forward soldier saw the fire in the rear, he was shocked and rushed to report.The Khitan vanguard general was sleeping soundly, when he was awakened suddenly, he was very angry, and was about to reprimand him, when a general broke in to report, he knew that something was wrong: "It turns out that the Song army can't hold on, expressing their cowardice, and plotting tricks in secret!" Then he ordered troops to go to the rescue. Just when people were frightened and horses were in chaos, they suddenly heard the shouts of killing at the pass.The Khitan general was shocked, thinking that the Song army was about to attack back and forth!When the Khitan soldiers saw the Song army coming one after another, they were frightened for a moment and ran away one after another. Shan Zhongyuan led 3,000 Song soldiers into the enemy's camp, shouting and killing, and hundreds of Song soldiers falsely said in the Khitan language: "Run for your life! The Song army is coming!" Where to tell the truth.Song Bing fought vigorously and tried his best to chase and kill them.Shan Zhongyuan saw that the great success was accomplished, so he ordered the withdrawal of troops, but he never thought that the troops would disperse, but he couldn't get his order.At this moment, the Khitan vanguard retreated to this point, Shan Zhongyuan led more than a hundred people to attack from behind, the Khitan vanguard commander ordered a part of the troops to resist the pursuers, and the rest fled.When the Song army sent by Zhao Cheshu arrived, only seventy or eighty of the three thousand elite soldiers remained.During the scuffle, Shan Zhongyuan was stabbed several times, bleeding to death.In this battle, more than 22,000 Khitan soldiers were killed or injured, and their commander was shot to death by arrows in the chaotic battle. Cai Yun was suddenly awakened from his sleep. Hearing the loud shouts of killing, he was so frightened that he rolled out of bed, thinking that the Khitan army was attacking the city.Hastily asked people to inquire, only to know that it was Song Jun who shouted.Cai Yun was annoyed: "It's the middle of the night, why are you shouting?" When he came out of the house, he was waiting to inquire what happened, and he would report to the future, only saying that the Khitan army had already fled in panic.Cai Yun was ecstatic.At dawn, Qin Jing came to report in a hurry, only saying that Shan Zhongyuan attacked without authorization, causing the entire army to be wiped out.Cai Yun was shocked and furious, so he ordered Qin Jing to quickly arrest Shan Zhongyuan.Qin Jing said dejectedly: "The Shan Zhongyuan has already been killed by the enemy, but the body has been found." Cai Yun heard this, and said anxiously: "How can we live like this?" Then Zhao Cheshu was summoned. Not long after, Zhao Cheshu came.When Cai Yun asked why, Zhao Cheshu was in a daze, as if he didn't know.Cai Yun panicked and said, "If the Khitans are angry and attack on a large scale, our city gate will not be safe!" Zhao Cheshu said, "Khitan dog thieves have bullied me into the weakness of the Song Dynasty, so they have made progress and repeatedly harassed them. Now they are attacked by Shan Zhongyuan. The loss is heavy, and I will be terrified, and I will definitely not dare to come again." Cai Yun heard it, and his heart was at ease, and he said: "I hope it will be like what General Zhao said." Then, Cai Yun wrote a memorial, saying: General Shan Zhongyuan disobeyed the holy will. Disobeying the military order, he sent troops without authorization, resulting in the death of 3,000 men and horses on the battlefield, and none of them survived.On the third day, Cai Yun wrote another memorial, boasting that he was able to command well, pretending to be a night attack, bluffing, and scaring away the Khitan army overnight, so that the enemy troops trampled on each other, killing and injuring tens of thousands of people, and so on. When Song Renzong saw the first memorial, he was terrified: If the Khitan is angered, and the Khitan invades the Song Dynasty, what should we do?Then he ordered the deputy privy envoy to investigate and deal with the matter, and all the family members of Shan Zhongyuan were seated together; he also urgently called Ouyang Xiu, Wang Anshi, Wen Yanbo and others to discuss countermeasures.Song Renzong wanted to send envoys to Khitan to make peace.All the ministers strongly opposed it, but Renzong had no choice but to let it go.The Khitan lord was shocked to hear that the army was attacked by three thousand Song troops, most of them were killed or injured, and he was terrified: I didn't expect the Song army to be so brave, with one as ten, rampaging across the battlefield, my Khitan's tens of thousands of people were defeated, and today's Song army is no longer the Song army of the past carry on.Since this case, the soldiers have not dared to commit crimes against the Song Dynasty for more than ten years.In the eighth year of Song Shenzong Xining, the Liao Dynasty sent minister Xiao Xi to the Song Dynasty to delineate the border and take the opportunity to divide the border land of the Song Dynasty.Song Chen Shen Kuo was ordered to go to Liao Kingdom as an envoy, and flatly rejected his unreasonable request. Liao Tianzuo Emperor Baoda five years, Liao (Khitan) was destroyed by gold. After Zhao Che's words, Su Gong, Shan Polu and others sighed endlessly.Zhao Huaishan said in surprise: "General Shan Zhongyuan is also a hero through the ages." Su Gong said: "Old General Zhao is also a hero through the ages." Zhao Cheshu sighed: "My lord, don't talk about heroes. The Holy Majesty bestowed upon me the title of General Zhenyuan. I am ashamed, the real Zhenyuan General is Shan Central Plains General." Shan Polu said bitterly: "I hate that Cai Yun is greedy for life and fears death, and fears the enemy like a tiger. How can such a traitor be appointed to defend the border? Isn't it the best of the world? Big joke?" Zhao Cheshu sighed, and said: "The one who is greedy for life and fears death, and fears the enemy like a tiger is not Cai Yun, but the imperial court." Everyone was surprised. Zhao Cheshu sighed: "Although my great Song Dynasty has elite soldiers and good generals, it has repeatedly lost in battles with Khitan and Xixia. Thousands of soldiers have turned into ashes! Why? I think about it carefully, the root cause is Emperor Taizong's words, The way is: External worries are not the same as border affairs, and they can be defended against. If treacherous evil has no shape, if it is an internal trouble, it is sincere and fearful. The so-called defense against the people is better than defense against bandits, and defense against generals is better than defense against enemies. How absurd? The current imperial court , Dear villain, far loyal and good, the end is chilling. Sun Tzu, the sage of soldiers, said: Although there are good generals, you can't follow them well. I believe it!" Su Gong said in surprise: "Old General Zhao's words hit the nail on the head. Su secretly thought: the soldiers of the emperor are no greater than the imperial generals. The power of the world is no greater than making the world happy to fight and not easy to fight. The troubles of the world, It does not lie in the enemy's enmity, nor in the enemy's country. The problem lies in the lack of strength of the generals. Instead, the enemy's country is in a position to invite its king. Therefore, there are many generals, and the stronger the enemy's country, the more soldiers, the stronger the bandits. But the stronger the banditry, the more powerful the general. The more powerful the general, the more rewards he has to increase. If this is the case, the thief is the king's trouble, and the general will benefit from it; the enemy country is the king's enemy, and the general will be fortunate. Take a hundred times the momentum, and establish a small amount of power, use his mouth, and invite the superior, so that the world will not perish, special attention. Today, in the Song Dynasty, I know security but not danger, and I can escape but not Fear when the enemy is alive, dance when the enemy is gone, use nothing to prepare yourself, and only benefit to heal. Blindly employ courtiers and drive out good ministers; impose severe punishments on the people, impose harsh taxes; humiliate the Liao Kingdom and Xixia, seek perfection, and live in safety. This is a great crisis of life and death. My father once said: Gou thought that the world was so big, and the story of the ruins from the six kingdoms was under the six kingdoms again. If things go on like this, I am afraid that in less than fifty years, our Great Song Dynasty will be like the six kingdoms. "Everyone sighed. Forty-seven years later, that is, the second year of Song Jingkang, as Su Gong said, the Northern Song Dynasty repeated the mistakes of the six countries and was destroyed by the Jin Dynasty. Both Song Huizong and Song Qinzong were captured by the Jin soldiers, and finally died in other places. History is called "Jingkang Change" . (end of this volume)

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1. The article "Teaching Wars and Keeping Strategies" is a policy theory written by Su Dongpo when he was preparing for the imperial examination.The full text is divided into six paragraphs, centering on "teaching, fighting and defending", citing historical facts, simple metaphors, positive and negative arguments, and thought-provoking.Looking at it carefully, the "big trouble today" is really "knowing safety but not knowing danger, being able to relax but not toil". 2. "Khitan", the Liao Kingdom was established in 907 AD, the country name was Khitan, the year name was established in 916 AD, the country name was changed to Liao in 937 AD, it was renamed Khitan in 983 AD, and it was still called Liao in 1066 AD. 3. The Song Dynasty was a relatively weak dynasty in Chinese history. Regardless of the Northern Song Dynasty or the Southern Song Dynasty, most of the foreign wars ended in frustration and peace, and finally perished in the hands of the Jurchen and the Mongols.The demise of the Song Dynasty was not due to the fact that the soldiers were disadvantaged and the generals were incompetent, but that they were brutally exploited and suppressed internally (such as the failure of many peasant uprising armies), and that they were subdued externally (such as the Chanyuan Alliance), guarding against suspicion by the people, and emphasizing the use of courtiers and treacherous officials. Party; and the numerous and unforgivable strategic and tactical mistakes that resulted from it. In this story, a lot of military strategy knowledge is quoted.Because when I was conceiving the story, I was obsessed with reading "Military Strategy" by Li Bingyan and Sun Jing.Every story I write is to express a certain theme, not just a clever murder or a puzzle. This story originated from my thinking about the cowardice of the Song Dynasty military force when I read ancient military books. It should be said that ancient Chinese military theories had considerable development in the Song Dynasty, such as the "Tiger Seal Classic" written by Xu Dong, "Cefu Yuangui" compiled by Wang Qinruo, "Wu Jing Zongyao" compiled by Zeng Gongliang, He Qu Non-authored "Dr. He's Preparations" and so on, these military books are vast and rich in content, and even many literati at that time had unique insights on military theory and strategy, such as Sima Guang, Shen Kuo, and Su Dongpo.These works are important classics in ancient Chinese military history, and some theories in them are still of reference significance today.I wrote about the plot of Su Dongpo's discussion of military aircraft in the story, which actually implies some modern military theoretical knowledge. At the same time, the level of handicraft and technology development in the Song Dynasty was quite high (such as artillery and firearms), and there were many generals, but they suffered repeated defeats in the military. What is the reason?This is what "The Mystery of the Chamber of Secrets" is about. At the end of the article, what Su Gong said actually includes Liu Zongyuan's "Enemy Warning", Su Xun's "Six Kingdoms", Su Dongpo's "Sun Wu Lun", "Teaching War and Guarding Strategies", etc., hereby explain.