On June 13, Zhao Ning suddenly arrived at the Penal Department Prison.

Qin Hui brought his former Tongzhi Privy Councilor Sun Fu out and arranged a separate room.

When Sun Fu saw the emperor, he was so excited that he knelt on the ground and said, "The guilty minister is here to see your majesty!"

Zhao Ning looked at Sun Fu. In the past half year or so, Sun Fu had lived a very miserable life in the prison of the Criminal Department and had lost a lot of weight.

However, Zhao Ning had already told him not to torture Sun Fu.

This person Zhao Ning is of great use.

Stupid is a little stupid, but there is no doubt about loyalty.

Zhao Ning said calmly: "Get up and talk."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

After a moment of silence, Zhao Ning said: "The Jin army retreated in April."

"The guilty minister heard from the jailer in prison that his majesty is wise and holy. Under your majesty's holy virtue, the golden thieves retreated. God bless our Song Dynasty."

"Okay, okay, I'm not here to hear what you have to say."

Sun Fu was a little embarrassed and said, "I wonder why Your Majesty came to such a dirty and filthy place to see the guilty minister in person?"

"You almost ruined the Song Dynasty, do you know?"

"The guilty minister is reflecting on himself every day. He wishes he could have died in prison. But every time he thinks of his father worrying about the country, he thinks that if there is still a chance, he must atone for his sins and share his worries for his father.

!”

Damn it!

Zhao Ning finally knew why Song Qinzong Zhao Huan liked to use Sun Fu.

This guy is loyal and well-spoken. It’s no wonder that with mediocre abilities, he still manages to get into the position of a fellow privy councilor.

Zhao Ning was silent for a moment and said: "According to your crime, I should have executed you long ago."

"The guilty minister has nothing to say. Your Majesty asked me to die, and I will die immediately."

After another moment of silence, Zhao Ning continued: "But the country is employing people, and since you have been loyal to me in the past, I can give you a chance to make up for your mistakes."

Sun Fu was stunned for a moment and said quickly: "Your Majesty, please make it clear."

"The Golden Thief has indeed retreated, but at the end of this year, they will definitely use troops against our country. I must be fully prepared. I need someone to be an envoy to the Xixia Kingdom."

Xixia is the name of the Song Dynasty people.

Xixia itself is called Baigao Daxia Kingdom, Xixia is a contemptuous name.

"I want to open up trade with Xixia Kingdom and vigorously trade."

"I want you to go on a mission to Xixia Kingdom, are you willing to go?"

Sun Fu's mind reacted for a long time before he came back to his senses and said: "Why did your Majesty want to trade with the Xixia Kingdom? Our dynasty and Dangxiang are feuding. Dangxiang is a vassal of our dynasty. He dares to rebel against the dynasty. His heart is terrible."

punish!"

damn it!

Zhao Ning could not wait to pick up the ink on the table and give Sun Fu a good beating.

Why can’t I turn a corner?

No wonder he went to invite Master Guo to dance at the top of the city.

At a time like this, is it the time to talk about feuding?

I didn’t know that Song Dynasty and Dang Xiang were feuding?

I don’t want to waste the party?

Does Song Dynasty have that strength now?

Now the Song Dynasty is protecting itself, do you understand self-protection?

These words cannot be said to a minister.

He said euphemistically: "With the current situation, stabilize Dangxiang and allow Dangxiang to have interest exchanges with the Song Dynasty. As long as the Jin army's offensive is defended at the end of this year, we will strengthen cooperation with Dangxiang and form an alliance with him next year."

"Will this work?"

"It works, you just need to do as I say."

"You are here to reach a deal with Brother Richard, the powerful official of Dangxiang. I am willing to open up a larger mutual market and allow Dangxiang's salt to freely enter the Song Dynasty. I also promised him to give him silk at a low price."

Brother Richard is a member of the Dangxiang clan and holds military power, so his voice carries a lot of weight in the Xixia court.

Rather than giving annual coins to the head of the Xixia Kingdom, it would be better to have beneficial relationships with such powerful ministers.

In fact, a large part of the war between the Song Dynasty and Dangxiang for more than a hundred years was due to the competition for salt.

If there is no profit, we can't afford it. The country and the country only have interests.

The officials in the court of the Song Dynasty were better at doing business than each other.

Many people scolded Sima Guang for abandoning the Longyou and Hexi lands that Wang Shao had recovered, calling him a traitor.

That is from the perspective of future generations.

Sima Guang's thoughts were definitely not out of betrayal, but out of business.

The Song Dynasty had an annual fiscal deficit, and official salaries were getting higher year by year. After Wang Shao expanded the Huangshui River, the Song Dynasty's northwest territory was indeed larger, but the court had no money to support an army there.

In other words, I took it back, but I can’t afford it.

If you can't afford it, it will be thrown away sooner or later, so it's better to sell it proactively.

That's the principle.

A hundred years after the war between Song and Xia, the Song Dynasty invested huge manpower and material resources to destroy Dangxiang, not only for the sake of the Celestial Kingdom, but more realistically because of the green and white salt produced in Wuchi and Baichi in Xixia.

The supply of salt in the northwest region of the Song Dynasty relied on Jiechi salt from Hedong (Shanxi), which was expensive and bitter.

Since Dangxiang's rebellion, Emperor Taizong of the Song Dynasty banned the entry of green and white salt, and the two sides began a century-old trade war.

Later it was restored and then interrupted. The two sides fought for hundreds of years. Although border trade existed, it could not come to the fore.

Zhao Ning's strategy this time is to simply formally trade with each other, and allow Brother Richard's people to make money in the Song Dynasty, and also give silk at a low price.

This is better than giving money directly.

If you give him money directly, Brother Richard will be happy for a while at most.

If he was allowed to send people freely to the Song Dynasty to sell salt, the money would be endless.

And by giving Brother Richard silk at a low price, Brother Richard has monopolized luxury goods in the country, which can be said to further improve his political status.

Brother Richard is short of money?

Of course he wanted money, so he was allowed to come to the Song Dynasty to sell salt.

But wouldn’t it be better if his political status was also improved?

Military is the foundation, but economic cooperation can be deeply binding.

First stabilize the party items, and then deeply bind them after the war between Song and Jin Dynasty at the end of this year.

In this way, part of the Jin army's troops will be allocated to Dangxiang.

Zhao Ning continued: "The Kingdom of Jin will definitely send envoys to Dangxiang. You don't have to worry about this. Talk to Brother Richard and settle the interests. He is a key figure, you know?"

"I understand."

"Tell me again what my intention was just now."

Sun Fu repeated it and added his own understanding.

Zhao Ning stopped and finally felt relieved.

Sun Fu was stupid in military affairs, but he was not stupid in administration. This was the characteristic of most civil servants in the Song Dynasty.

When he met the military, he became confused. When he talked about doing business, he almost changed into a completely different person.

"When you go to the northwest, go see Zhang Jun first. I have sent a secret message to Zhang Jun. He will cooperate with you, and he will also make arrangements for everything from now on."

"yes."

Finally, Zhao Ning said: "Many people in the court impeached you and asked me to kill you and even ransack your home. I missed your loyalty and couldn't bear it, so I took your wife, children and mother to Bianjing. You don't have to worry.

.”

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

After Zhao Ning left, he asked Wang Huaiji to send a message to Mo Chou, the Minister of Civil Affairs, asking him to arrange an official position as a doctor in the Ministry of Rites for Sun Fu.
Chapter completed!