The connection between these four things is actually not difficult to understand. Picking out these four things is the key to the problem, and Su Jin has already done it for them, so soon, everyone has a vague idea, including Zhao
Zhen also has the answer.
"Are you saying that the Liao people took advantage of the Song Dynasty's internal and external difficulties to fish in troubled waters?" Zhao Zhen opened his slightly closed eyes and asked, biting his back molars slightly.
Everyone's eyes were focused on Su Jin, and everyone thought about this problem.
Su Jin nodded and said: "The Liao people chose this time, and I have to say that this time is very good; as far as Wei Chen knows, the northwest war has been going on for five years since the rebellion of the Western thief Yuan Hao, and it is not far away.
Said, "In the two years from the second year of Baoyuan to the first year of Qingli, our Northwestern Army of the Song Dynasty suffered several heavy losses; I am not trying to expose my own wounds, I just want to state a fact."
There were several people in the crowd who looked embarrassed. The most embarrassed ones were Du Yan, Pang Ji, and Fan Yong, the Minister of Civil Affairs. These three people were the people involved. Du Yan was the Privy Envoy and the Commander-in-Chief of Military Affairs, so he could not escape his responsibility.
One was Pang Ji, the original Shaanxi transit envoy, and Fan Yong was the prefect of Yanzhou where the war broke out at that time. The defeat of Sanchuankou killed and wounded nearly 40,000 Song Dynasty soldiers, and the defeat of Haoshuichuan killed and wounded nearly 50,000 people. The leading generals at all levels
More than thirty people died, which can be described as a great shame and humiliation.
Su Jin talked about this matter in court. Although he admitted that he was not exposing wounds, all the emperor and ministers in the palace looked embarrassed. Yan Shu hurriedly used his eyes to ask Su Jin not to say more about this matter.
Su Jin looked at it indifferently and continued: "In the two battles in the northwest, we lost 90,000 soldiers of the Song Dynasty. The losses were staggering, and the military strength in the northwest was greatly damaged. It was supposed to be in an offensive posture, but now it has to be on the defensive.
If Master Fan and Master Han had not adopted appropriate countermeasures, something would have gone wrong long ago."
Zhao Zhen slowly let out a breath and said: "What you said is the truth, but I thought that the spirit of our northwest garrison of the Great Song Dynasty is still there. How could the Western thieves be able to break through the border town so easily."
"Start"
Zhao Zhen said: "I understand what you mean, the loss is indeed too great."
Su Jindao: "The severe drought in the Song Dynasty also caused a lot of losses. There was almost no grain or silver in the national treasury. It can be seen that the consumption was staggering."
Lu Yijian, who had closed his eyes in deep thought, opened his eyes and shouted: "Don't talk nonsense. According to what you say, it's time for our country, the Song Dynasty, to be destroyed. It's better not to talk nonsense."
Su Jin frowned and said: "Mr. Lu, this is not the time to pretend to be wrong. I am just discussing the matter and have no other intentions. How is the treasury? Your Majesty, Prime Minister Lu and the three ministers know a hundred times better than me. I personally handle food affairs with my own eyes."
Seeing that the granaries of the state capitals are empty and the treasury depleted is just an analogy. Even a prosperous place like Yangzhou is in such a miserable state. I am afraid that the state capitals will have nine out of ten treasuries. If my guess is wrong, please ask the emperor and
Prime Minister Lu, please forgive me."
Zhao Zhen was irritated and patted the armrest of the Dragon Seat and said, "Su Jin, don't make false assumptions. Just tell me what I'm asking about."
Su Jin cupped his hands and said: "Your Majesty, in short, our Song Dynasty has indeed been in troubled times in the past few years. Fortunately, the sage's benevolent and righteous policies have allowed us to overcome the difficulties. However, I have to say something from my heart, just like a person suffering from a serious illness. Although he has survived,
I have recovered, but the disease is gone like a thread, and my vitality has been damaged, so I have to recover slowly, and I will not recover so quickly."
Zhao Zhen nodded slightly. What Su Jin said was all the truth. Although it was a bit cruel to say it, Zhao Zhen knew that it was not a problem just to avoid talking.
"How could the Liao Kingdom not know the situation of the Song Dynasty? The people of Liao lived in a bitter and cold land and they must have coveted the rich territory of the Song Dynasty. Moreover, from the beginning of the founding of the Song Dynasty to the time of the late emperor, we had conquered the Liao Kingdom several times.
Emperor Taizong led his troops northward and almost broke into Youzhou City; although the Chanzhou Alliance was established, how could the Liao people forget these things? No matter how harmonious the relationship between the two countries is now, there is only one prerequisite, that is, equal strength."
Everyone was so mesmerized that they completely forgot that they were listening to a teenage boy talking about the general trend of the world. His analysis was very organized and sounded reasonable, and some of his views were unheard of.
"We, the Song Dynasty, have enough soldiers and food. Although the Liao people covet it, they really can't swallow it. And if we, the Song Dynasty, attack the Liao Kingdom, the chance of winning is not great. It is precisely because of the equal strength that the two sides are brothers.
The opportunity for the country; just imagine, if the Liao Kingdom was weak, how could we, the Song Dynasty, be willing to let this evil wolf in the north without killing it?"
Zhao Zhenshen thought so, and even Lu Yijian, Du Yan and others believed that what Su Jin said hit the point. If the Song Dynasty had no choice, how could it make peace with the Liao people? There was really no way to destroy the Liao country; Emperor Taizong led 300,000
The army took advantage of the young master of Liao and launched the Northern Expedition with thunderous momentum when the Queen Mother Xiao Chuo was in power, but they failed to achieve victory, let alone now; the growth of the Song Dynasty's military strength could not keep up with the growth of the Liao Dynasty; it was rumored that the Liao Kingdom
The number of cavalrymen has already exceeded one million, and it is simply a dream to defeat them now.
Su Jin continued: "The current situation is when the balance of strength is broken. How can the Liao people not take advantage of it? They took advantage of the fierce battle between the Song Dynasty and the Western bandits to station troops in the northern border area when the national power was greatly consumed.
, can it be said that it is just an ordinary troop movement? It is definitely not possible!"
Zhao Zhen trembled, straightened up and stood up. He walked slowly on the steps in front of the dragon throne. He suddenly stopped and asked: "Then what is the purpose of the Liao people sending envoys here? Why don't they attack directly?
Where is my Da Song?"
Su Jin thought for a while and said: "In war, the troops must have a good reputation, and the Liao people are not willing to bear the responsibility for breaking the alliance. I speculate that the Liao people came here for two purposes; one is to spy on the internal affairs of the Song Dynasty.
Let’s see if the soldiers and civilians of our Song Dynasty are exhausted by the Western thieves, and whether their weapons, food, fodder, soldiers and horses are in good condition. Secondly, since they want to make a name for themselves, they will use this mission to put forward harsh conditions. If our Song Dynasty
Failure to do so will provide the Liao people with an excuse to invade."
Zhao Zhen's face was pale, which coincided with his estimate. When Su Jin mentioned those four things just now, he had already thought of this possibility, but he did not want to believe his guess until Su Jin said
Only after he came out did he have to face this difficult fact.
The ministers also changed their minds suddenly. The Liao people's method this time was extremely clever. This was a typical practice of courtesy first and then fighting. However, the word "courtesy" in front may make the Song Dynasty pay a very high price; and if they did not agree to their conditions,
The price paid may be greater.
"This is all Wei Chen's speculation. The matter may not be as bad as Wei Chen thought. Wei Chen just wants to say that it is necessary to be on guard against others. The emperor is benevolent and righteous, but the people of Liao may not know what is good and what is bad, so they must take precautions." Su Jingong
Shen said.
Su Jin thought: History has proved that this time the Liao people are here to rip you off, and my words are just to comfort you; but since I came here, everything seems to be different. I am nothing like this era.
A factor. Is this small factor leading things to develop for the better or for the worse? No one can tell!
Su Jin retreated to the last position and stood quietly. The officials around him looked at Su Jin very differently. This man's analysis was well-founded and his assumptions were quite reasonable. The whole thing was like a big picture spread out in front of them.
, people can see clearly at a glance; military affairs were originally complicated, complicated and obscure, but once he explained them, they became clear at a glance.
"Do you have any comments on the words of Special Envoy Su?" Zhao Zhen broke the silence and asked everyone again.
"Your Majesty, I think Su Jin's words are too alarmist. The war between the two countries is a major event. How can we start a war easily? I think we should wait for the envoys from the Liao Kingdom to clarify their intentions before making a decision." Deputy Prime Minister Zhang Dexiang this time.
He took the lead and played first.
"Your Majesty, I feel that I have to be on guard. What Special Envoy Su said is in line with the truth, and the relationship between the Song Dynasty and the Liao Kingdom is indeed not as harmonious as imagined. Although there has been no war in recent years, the relationship between the two countries has
There were indeed a lot of frictions and fights. The border residents of Hebei were harassed by Liao soldiers several times, resulting in many casualties. Last year, the Liao people actually sent a large group of troops into our territory to cut down a large number of trees. Later, our border troops found out and burned them.
They had lost all the wood, and a fight almost broke out; it can be seen that the Liao people have been making moves, and they have to be on guard." The speaker was another actual deputy prime minister, Jia Changchao, who was involved in political affairs as the minister of the Ministry of Works, and was also a member of the two dynasties.
A veteran.
Zhao Zhen was accustomed to having his ministers disagree with each other, but in this matter, he was bored to death. Seeing the two opinions starting to argue endlessly in the court, and not knowing when the end came to an end, an unknown fire rose in his heart.
Zhao Zhen suppressed his anger and looked at Lu Yijian. At critical moments, this veteran was needed to provide advice. Lu Yijian was also used to speaking out at critical moments.
"Your Majesty, I think it's better to be prepared with both hands. As I said again, overreaction will be counterproductive, but if you don't prepare, you will be caught off guard. In view of the fact that the Liao envoy is coming, we still need to treat each other with courtesy and show our Majesty the best.
The majesty and demeanor cannot be taught. In addition, I believe that the number of the two armies of Anbaoding is only more than 20,000, and the Liao people have stationed more than 100,000 troops. If a war starts, they may suffer losses. I suggest that troops and horses be mobilized quickly to reinforce the two passes of Xiongzhou and Bazhou.
, just in case something unexpected happens.”
Zhao Zhen turned to Du Yan and said, "Du Aiqing, what troops can be mobilized there for reinforcements?"
Du Yan hurriedly said: "The Ansu and Guangxin armies are closest to Waqiao Pass. They can advance eastward and get closer. They can be rescued at any time when the war breaks out. But... this way, the Hebei West Road will appear empty."
Zhao Zhen said: "Is there a solution?"
Du Yan hesitated and did not answer. Chen Zhizhong, the deputy privy envoy, came forward and said: "We can order Caoqiao Guan Shun'an Army and Qizhou Yongning Army to move forward to guard, and then mobilize Jizhou, and the Xiang Army from Daming Prefecture to move forward for deep defense."
Zhao Zhen said: "Is it possible?"
Du Yan nodded and said: "That's possible, but things are rushed and it might take a lot of time."
Zhao Zhen said: "There can be no delay, and we should move forward lightly to set up defenses. Yan Aiqing, you need to transport the grain and grass in time, and work with the Hebei two routes to ensure logistics."
Yan Shu frowned. Asking for money and food was the most troublesome thing at the moment, but he was only confused for a moment, and then he bowed and agreed.
Zhao Zhen breathed a long sigh of relief and returned to the dragon seat to sit down. Unknowingly, sweat was already appearing on his forehead.dd