() "Mr. Han, what do you think? Tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians in the northwest defeated the Western bandits in a bloody battle, and how many people shed their blood. In the end, when the peace talks are made, you think we should compensate the Western bandits 130,000 pieces of silk and 50,000 taels."
Silver and twenty thousand catties of tea, why? I want to ask you, did we win or did we lose?"
"This... I am following the Shenzong Dynasty's protocols and regulations. The Shenzong Dynasty..."
"Shut up! Times have changed. One time has passed and the other has changed. During the Shenzong Dynasty, the Western Bandits were still our vassal state of the Song Dynasty. The late Emperor gave the Xia people to the Xia people in order to appease and reward the party members. Nowadays, the Western Bandits have treason and have long since disappeared.
They are loyal to me, the Song Dynasty, and in the past four years of war, the Western thieves slaughtered and plundered my people without any plan. Now that they have been defeated, they have to pay for their silver cloth and silk? Are they worthy?"
"It's not compensation...it's...a gift..."
"Idiot, you're just deceiving yourself. People don't want to be a subject of the Song Dynasty, so why should they give you wishful thinking?" Han Qi finally couldn't help it and joined in the verbal criticism.
The officials were reminded by Su Jin that it was unreasonable to give coins to Xixia after the victory. It was like paying compensation for the defeat of the Song Dynasty. Just because they thought it was not wrong to follow the old system just now, after thinking about it carefully,
Fang felt there was a mistake... .
"Actually, the second point is not important. The little money given to the Western thieves every year is nothing. But this is a matter of principle. How can we confuse black and white? Li Yuanhao is a white-eyed wolf. If we can't see this clearly, I, the Song Dynasty, will continue to do it in the future.
They suffered a big loss; from the third item they proposed, we can know that Li Yuanhao is still evil. He is nominally praying for us to open border trade. He talks about exchanging cows, sheep, skins, green salt, and our food, cotton craftsmen, etc., and talks about learning.
I say this about the etiquette of the Song Dynasty. It sounds quite honorable, but do you know who the craftsmen who accompanied Li Yuanhao were during the Battle of Weizhou? They were all craftsmen from the Liao State, and they built siege equipment for them to attack.
Fortunately, the craftsmen of the Great Song Dynasty are crude in their craftsmanship and can only build simple trebuchets and simple ladders. If Li Yuanhao is allowed to obtain more excellent siege weapons, can Weizhou be able to defend it?"
Su Jin looked around the silent hall and continued: "What is the wolf of Zhongshan? What is the legacy of raising tigers? Today we are kind to the Xia people, give them money, give them food, give them cotton cloth, and give them craftsmen; tomorrow we will fatten them up
The Western thieves who have recovered will bite back, if you don't believe it, please wait and see."
"We, the Song Dynasty, are now immersed in the joy of victory. At this time, it is easy to make the mistake of being a bad person. The difference between us, the people of the Song Dynasty, and the people of the Western Liao Dynasty is that we lack the spirit of tigers and wolves. We always think that after the enemy is defeated, there is no need to
Beating up a drowned dog does not seem merciful enough; who has ever seen the Dangxiang people and the Liao people being merciful to me, the Great Song Dynasty? Because of this, they have repeatedly caught their weaknesses. To tell you how to choose, I will naturally ask the emperor for judgment; everyone
If you feel that I am rude today and cannot tolerate it, I will resign and go home to become my own small businessman."
Su Jin raised the official title on his arm and the official hat in his hand, stepped forward and placed it on the steps of His Highness, knelt down and saluted Zhao Zhen, got up and strode out.
The ministers were silent, and everyone was still immersed in the thoughts of what Su Jin said. Seeing that Su Jin had reached the entrance of the palace, everyone reacted. Fu Bi was the first to shout: "Master Su, no, the emperor has not given permission.
You are resigning."
Ouyang Xiu hurriedly knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, Mr. Su's words come from the bottom of his heart, and they are precious words of advice to be prepared for danger in times of peace. How can your Majesty allow him to go into seclusion like this?"
Yan Shu, Fan Zhongyan, Han Qi and others also quickly came forward to kowtow and plead for mercy. As soon as these people knelt down, the officials in the court immediately fell to their knees.
Zhao Zhen was stunned, then laughed loudly and said: "When did I agree to his resignation? I was just thinking about Su Aiqing's words. Su Aiqing, stop acting, why don't you come back quickly?"
Su Jin smiled and turned around, but Zhao Zhen saw clearly that he was just acting. How could he escape the responsibility of insulting officials in the court without acting?
Zhao Zhen stood up and stepped down from the throne. He stretched out his hand to pick up the official uniform and hat. When Su Jin came to him, he stretched out his hand to put the official hat upright and help Su Jin put it on. He then picked up the clothes to help Su Jin dress.
He quickly accepted the offer and said he didn't dare. Zhao Zhen whispered in Su Jin's ear: "You want to quit? You still owe me your life. If you don't, I will kill your nine tribes."
Su Jin was startled by the coldness in Zhao Zhen's tone. Zhao Zhen didn't seem to be joking, but he was clearly smiling. The emperor has the majesty of the emperor, but this sentence, which seemed to be a joke, was
It's enough to make people tremble with fear.
Zhao Zhen smiled brightly and said loudly: "Fortunately, there are many sensible people in our Song Dynasty. I admit that I am a little too kind. Su Jin's words reminded us, but how should we negotiate this time?"
Seeing that the situation had turned, Yan Shu wanted to say a few words, so he handed over his hand and said: "Your Majesty, I think that we should choose another candidate for the negotiation. Firstly, Han Jiang is not the most suitable candidate. Secondly, it is difficult to formulate new negotiation terms.
It’s beyond what Han Jiang can do.”
Zhao Zhen said: "Okay, who should go?"
Fan Zhongyan said: "Of course it is Mr. Su. Mr. Su is versatile in both civil and military affairs. He cannot defeat the Western thieves in a war, and he must be an opponent at the negotiation table."
Su Jin hurriedly waved his hands and said, "I can't do it. I still have a lot of things to do in the northwest, and my wife has to give birth again. I don't have time."
Zhao Zhen said: "The negotiation will be held in Weizhou. The Xia envoy does not need to come to the capital. You only need to tell me what terms you plan to draw up. After the court agrees, you will have full power to decide the rest."
Of course, Su Jin really wanted to be the negotiating ambassador, because only by mastering the terms of the negotiation could he fulfill the agreement with the Yeli tribe. In case someone else still reached the terms of the food transaction, he wanted to exchange food for war horses.
It was a miscalculation.
"In this case, I obey the decree. The terms of my negotiation are very simple. There is only one, and that is to ask the Western thieves to cancel the title of emperor and release the plundering border people. Otherwise, we, the Song Dynasty, will march directly to Xingqing Mansion! The rest!
I will not accept any old coins, grain, cotton craftsmen, etc. On the contrary, I will seal the border and take advantage of the Western thieves’ domestic embarrassment to make things worse for them so that they will not be able to recover for ten or eight years.
Let’s see what else they can use to challenge me, Da Song.”
Everyone was silent, this kid was really evil-hearted, and he would kill him while he was sick, but thinking about it would relieve his anger.
Du Yan frowned and asked, "What are you going to do if the Western Thief doesn't cancel the title of emperor?"
Su Jin smiled and said: "If we don't cancel it, I can't do anything. We can't send troops to really attack, but I will make a gesture to scare them. The worst is a state of no war and no peace. Anyway, both sides need to rest and rest."
, the national strength of the Song Dynasty will definitely recover faster than theirs. The weather is good this year, and the summer grain harvest will be bumper again. He, Li Yuanhao, has eaten up all the cattle and sheep and can only eat green grass."
Everyone rolled their eyes, what kind of negotiation was this? It was a situation of no war, no peace. However, as long as the status quo could be maintained and the two sides stopped fighting, the purpose of peace would be achieved.
At that time, Zhao Zhen issued an order to appoint Su Jin as the imperial envoy, and ordered someone to take a note of the Xia envoy to discuss changes in location, time, and candidates.
…
After the morning meeting, Su Jin knew that Zhao Zhen would definitely summon him alone, so he deliberately walked at the end. Sure enough, Huang Peisheng came and whispered a few words in Su Jin's ear, asking Su Jin to meet him in the imperial study room of Chongzheng Hall; Su Jin strolled around.
Walking to Chongzheng Hall, when he arrived at the imperial study room of Chongzheng Hall, Zhao Zhen had already changed into casual clothes and was sitting at a small table waiting for Su Jin.
Su Jin stepped forward to salute, Zhao Zhen smiled and waved, ordered Su Jin to sit opposite, picked up the teapot and poured a cup of tea for Su Jin.
"Su Jin, you are very good. I didn't make any mistakes. This battle in the northwest was fought beautifully."
"Thank you for the compliment, Your Majesty. Your Majesty is blessed with great blessings, and all the humble ministers will benefit from it."
"Don't be humble. I know that you contributed the most to this battle. You went deep behind enemy lines and burned the army's food and fodder. This is not something just anyone dares to do. It's courageous, but... it's a little reckless."
Su Jin smiled and said: "The emperor taught me that I too jumped over the wall in a hurry. The emperor appointed me as the acting envoy of Jingyuan Road to Weizhou, but I lost Weizhou. What's the matter? From now on I will
Can you still hold your head up?"
Zhao Zhen laughed and said: "That's right. Now the burden on your shoulders is even greater. I have also handed over Qin Feng Road to you. The northwest is not easy to manage."
Su Jindao: "I am also worried. The restoration of production and the reconstruction of the city require a large amount of money and food supplies. I would like to ask the emperor to help me, otherwise I will not be able to stay in the northwest."
Zhao Zhen said: "I asked you to come here to tell you this. Yesterday I talked to Yan Aiqing about this matter. The main task in the northwest is to maintain stability. To stabilize the people's hearts and restore production; in view of your heavy burden,
The imperial court will naturally provide great assistance, and if you have any requests, just put them forward."
Su Jin thought for a while and said: "I'm sorry, I really need the help of the imperial court, and there is one more thing that requires the emperor's permission."
Zhao Zhen became more interested and said with a smile: "What other tricks do you have? Tell me."