[If you don’t listen to me once, I will do it again. Even if you are tired of making hundreds of memos, you will not be invited and I will not be able to stop.]
In the fourth year of Jingde (1004), Li Jiqian's last words seemed to still echo in Li Deming's ears.
To this day, Li Deming still dare not forget.
But why force me?
Why are you forcing me?
Whoops!
Whoops!
An unwarranted anger surged from Li Deming's chest. This anger grew stronger and stronger!
Why ban salt?
Salt and profit are the foundation of the country!
The food, arrows, and armor of the party members were all exchanged for a load of salt.
If the green and white salt cannot flow into the Song Dynasty, the loss will be huge.
damn it!
For a long time, Li Deming couldn't help but cursed in a low voice.
Why is it at this time?
After finally recovering from the battle in Xia Liao, Li Deming was preparing for the ambitious attack on Hexi.
As a result, the Song Dynasty actually banned salt?
no!
The Song court must not be allowed to ban salt!
Li Deming suddenly made up his mind that he must have a fight with Song Ting!
Only by inflicting pain on Song Ting can the people of Song Dynasty know that salt is not so easy to prohibit.
It just so happens that this battle can also remind Song Ting'er that peace is bad, right?
There is no need for war!
Since you want war, then I will give you war!
Whatever is not available at the negotiation table, I will personally take it from the battlefield!
Attack the Song Dynasty!
Song must be attacked!
And they hit Gyeongju!
As for the vanguard, let Yuan Hao go.
Although Li Deming angrily rebuked Li Yuanhao's proposal to attack Song Dynasty, just because he did not cause trouble does not mean that he is afraid of trouble!
At this time, Song Ting had already cornered the Xia people!
If Song Ting continues to give in, will Song Ting go further?
Therefore, this battle must be fought!
Not only must we fight, but we must win and hurt Song Ting!
Of course, Li Deming's "attacking the Song Dynasty" and Li Yuanhao's "attacking the Song Dynasty" are two different things. He just wanted to hurt the Song Dynasty once.
There is no intention of fighting a protracted war.
The Song army's combat power was indeed not good, but it could not withstand the Song Dynasty because there were too many people and the Song court was too rich.
In a war of attrition, the Xia people were no match for the Song people!
…
…
…
The inner east gate of the small hall.
"Cao Qing, how do you think the party members would react if they knew about the salt ban?"
Li Jie specially summoned Cao Wei today, and he was going to discuss the next situation with Cao Wei.
Although the big strategy has been set, the plan is dead, and there will eventually come a time when it cannot keep up with the changes, and the details that should be adjusted will still have to be adjusted.
"I believe that Li Deming should 'pay tribute first' and then go to the table, lower his profile and ask our court to abandon the salt ban."
Cao Wei stroked his beard and slowly elaborated on his suggestions.
"Moreover, if Dang Xiang pays tribute, there will definitely be no shortage of rare treasures among the tribute items, and there will also be no shortage of high-quality horses."
"Li Deming will pay tribute without reservation for anything he could not buy in the past. The only thing he wants is the 'ban on salt.'"
Cao Wei and Li Deming were also old rivals. During their expedition to the northwest, they had many conflicts overtly and covertly.
Therefore, he knows Li Deming very well.
Never look at this person in ordinary terms.
Li Deming was very tolerant, able to bend and stretch, and didn't care about face at all. When facing the Song and Liao dynasties, even if he was humiliated, he could still greet him with a smile.
But if you think this person is a good old man, you are wrong!
Big mistake!
When the time comes for a last-ditch battle, this person will definitely not lack blood!
Through the war during the Tianxi period, we can see Li Deming's military talent.
After hearing Cao Wei's views, Li Jie nodded slightly, and then he suddenly made a suggestion that surprised Cao Wei.
"Is it possible to unite with Liao to attack Xia?"
Alliance with Liao to attack Xia?
this……
Cao Wei's first reaction was, absolutely impossible.
But if you think about it carefully, it doesn't seem entirely impossible.
A few years ago, the Emperor of the Liao Kingdom suffered a hidden loss from Dangxiang, although Dangxiang people took the initiative to step up.
But the emperor of Liao's face was finally lost a bit.
On this basis, the Liao Emperor was instigated. Even if they failed to reach a consensus on joining forces to attack Xia in the end, it shouldn't be a problem if the Liao Kingdom would just sit on the sidelines, right?
The alliance with Liao to attack Xia was just a feint!
The real trump card is actually to drive Tubo to join forces to attack the Xia people.
Use reality to make it imaginary, and use imaginary to make it real. This strategy is exactly in line with the art of war!
After thinking about it, Cao Wei suddenly felt that this plan was feasible!
"What the officials mean is that soldiers are unpredictable?"
"good!"
Li Jie smiled and nodded. He was worthy of being a veteran of the Northwest. He really knew everything about it.
He never expected to invade Xixia together with the Liao Kingdom.
That's unrealistic!
At the same time, he didn't want to.
Because in his plan, he not only wanted to conquer Xixia, but also recaptured the Sixteenth Prefecture of Yanyun, and even went all the way north to destroy the Liao Kingdom in advance.
Destroying Xixia is just a small test.
The Liao Kingdom is the main dish!
As for small countries like Dali, he has no interest in conquering them at all. He will wait until he destroys Xixia and takes back the land of Yanyun.
At that time, if Dali was interested, it should be like Wu Yue, imitate the Qian family, and take the initiative to accept the land as its ministers.
"Cao Qing, do you have any recommendations for candidates to send envoys to Liao?"
After pondering for a moment, Cao Wei proposed a candidate.
"A doctor from the Ministry of Finance knows Xue Kui from Yanzhou (now Yan'an). It may be possible."
Xue Kui?
Li Jie was somewhat surprised when he heard this name.
He had an impression of this person, but compared to Xue Kui himself, his two sons-in-law were probably more famous.
Wang Gongchen and Ouyang Xiu are both Xue Kui's sons-in-law.
Of course, now we have to add the word "future" in front of 'son-in-law'.
In fact, this matter was also mentioned in the play. Wang Gongchen and Ouyang Xiu were of the same year, and the top pick in the ranking in the eighth year of Tiansheng was Wang Gongchen.
Ouyang Xiu ended up in 14th place.
The young and energetic Ouyang Xiu was not convinced by this result. Wang Gongchen, who was only nineteen years old, was not as good as him in terms of fame and articles.
The two have feuded since then.
Later, Wang Gongchen first married Xue Kui's third daughter. Unfortunately, the beauty was unlucky. After the death of the third daughter, Wang Gongchen married Xue Kui's youngest daughter.
Regarding this matter, Ouyang Xiu once made a sharp comment.
'The old son-in-law becomes the new son-in-law, and the elder uncle becomes the younger uncle.'
Although Ouyang Xiu's third wife is also Xue Kui's daughter, as his brother-in-law, his relationship with Wang Gongchen has always been very bad.
In his view, Wang Gongchen was not only a thief, but also a person who wanted to follow others' influence.
Why did Wang Gongchen remarry Xue Kui's youngest daughter?
Isn't it just to hug the Northern Group boss Xue Kui's thigh?
In fact, when it came to Wang Gongchen's remarriage, Ouyang Xiu had colored glasses.
Although it was not common in the Song Dynasty, it was not uncommon for sisters to remarry their original wives. The marriage between Wang Gongchen and the Xue family was not only a personal marriage, but also a family marriage.
Xue Kui is optimistic about Wang Gongchen. After all, Wang Gongchen is the number one scholar, and he is still the number one scholar at the age of 19. He has a bright future.
That's why he continued to marry his younger daughter to Wang Gongchen after the death of his third daughter.
Strictly speaking, the fact that Wang Gongchen defeated Ouyang Xiu and won the first prize cannot be blamed on Wang Gongchen.
Wang Gongchen was born into a poor family, how could he have the ability to control the court?
Ouyang Xiu did not lose because of his reputation or his articles, but because of his geographical location. Who makes Ouyang Xiu a southerner and Wang Gongchen a northerner?
It just so happened that the prime minister at that time in history was Lu Yijian, a die-hard northerner.
Just like when Kou Zhun suppressed Yan Shu, Lu Yijian only suppressed southern scholars on a routine basis.