"Prime Minister, there have been two pieces of news in the court recently. One is that when Han Xingshu sent troops to Weizhou, the Lord of the Liao Dynasty, Yelu Hongji, led 100,000 Pishi troops to sit in Yunzhong."
"Another one is that Shen Kuo, the strategic envoy of the Jingyuan Road, reported to Li Bingchang, the leader of the Dangxiang Kingdom, to kill Queen Liang, marry a Khitan princess instead, and formally form an alliance with the Khitan."
The speaker was Cai Bian, who was recalled to the court by Zhang Yue after he was stationed at Xihe Road.
In the cold winter, a brazier was lit in the west hall of Zhongshu.
A new greenhouse has been built nearby. There are many flowers and trees planted in the greenhouse. Zhang Yue is now playing with several potted plants like a veteran cadre.
Now Zhang Yue and Cai Bian are playing chess next to the greenhouse.
It's freezing outside, but it's as warm as spring where the prime minister is doing his business.
Zhang Yue placed a piece on the chessboard and said: "These two matters were reported to Bianjing by Shen Kuo based on the side reports."
"Although there is no other evidence yet, we can see that these two pieces of news are not groundless."
Cai Bian said: "It would be nice if we could be more precise."
Zhang Yue said: "I knew before that King Zhigao had said that the Liao State had been spying on the major and minor affairs of the court in great detail, but our spying on the situation of the Khitan and Dangxiang in the court was sparse. Although I established the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Defense, it was only a rough establishment. Previously, we used the power of Xiong.
The governor of the state, Liu Shunqing, is the judge, but he is good at Liao affairs, but not familiar with party matters."
Cai Bian said: "I heard that another fortress has been built in the northern border. Wu Juhou, the transshipment judge, plans to recruit people who are good at navigation to cross the sea to trade with the Jurchens, and also to find out the truth about the Liao Kingdom."
"Actually, I don't think there is any need to abandon the near and seek the far. Isn't it better to seek Korea?"
While he was talking, Quanzhi Xueyuan and Chen Mu from Sinong Temple came.
Zhang Yue smiled and said: "Ask Gao Li, he came at the right time."
When Chen Mu had something to do, he walked to Zhang Yue and took the initiative to get close to his superiors. When Chen Mu saw Cai Bianzheng playing chess with Zhang Yue, jealousy flashed through his heart.
He, Zhang Yue, and Wang Anli are both of the same age, so they should be closer than Cai Bian. Whoever succeeds Zhang Yue as prime minister three years later, Chen Mu feels that he is qualified.
Chen Mu sat down and talked to Zhang Yue and Cai Bian.
Chen Mu now also heads Sinong Temple and is responsible for promoting the new law.
Since the implementation of the exemption law, people's suffering has been alleviated. The revised exemption law has been praised from top to bottom, so it has been vigorously promoted.
As for the Young Crops Law and the Municipal Trade Law, although Zhang Yue did not abolish it, he relaxed the jurisdiction over the local promotion divisions through the judgment of Sinong Temple. At the same time, he gave up the assessment of state and county officials, reducing the suppression of allocations and official forced purchases.
After the forced sale.
The commercial vitality of the people has been greatly restored. In Chen Mu's words, industry and commerce are booming, but the imperial court's input is less.
Zhang Yue still vigorously promotes farmland water conservancy laws.
As for the Baojia Law, it was revised by Xue Xiang, eliminating the need for additional regulations, except for Hebei and Shaanxi, where the scale was reduced.
This is Zhang Yue's attitude towards the new law after two years in power. After all, the power of the new party is very strong. Zhang Yue should not change it too much to avoid causing unnecessary controversy.
Taking advantage of the great victory in Liangzhou, Zhang Yue continued to promote tax cuts and light labor for the people, while revitalizing industry and commerce. For a large country and a large organization, the cause of its demise often lies within, not outside.
For Zhang Yue, solving internal problems is far more important than solving external problems.
Chen Mu said: "Prime Minister, compared with the exemption law, the market changes law and the young crop law are simply evil laws. They can not eliminate the annexation of the family, but instead create a lot of officials who want to take credit, causing the people's families to be destroyed."
Zhang Yue listened to Chen Mu's report and said, "You can't say that."
"The original intention of Duke Jing's reforms was good. Su Ziyou said that Duke Jing only made trouble for the rich. At that time, Duke Jing laughed."
"The country has no money, and it is difficult to take it from the poor, so we take it from the rich. This is the reason why the people do not contribute more to the country than the country uses. I think there is no need to hide this matter."
"Jing Gong's mistake was to stick to one extreme. The principle of governing a country is the same as being a human being. You can set a principle in advance, but when dealing with people, you must adapt to changes at any time, and you must not stick to one extreme."
"Why should we stick to one end? That is a common problem among all the wise and talented people in the world - pride."
"I think that all things in the world can be achieved as long as you have determination and perseverance. For example, the public opposition to the Market Change Law and the Young Crops Law has been boiling, like Han Gong, Ouyang Gong, Fu Gong, Wen Gong, etc. have been for many years
Prime Minister, they all think it is not possible. Even if you are extremely wise, you will not be able to apply it to the world for a while."
Chen Mu and Cai Bian all claimed the same.
Zhang Yue said to Chen Mu, "I plan to unite with Goryeo to reject Liao. What do you think?"
Since Dangxiang and the Liao Kingdom have formally formed an alliance, Zhang Yue must also take action.
Chen Mu was sent as an envoy to Goryeo. In the eighth year of Xining, Song Dynasty and Liao Dynasty were arguing over the demarcation of the border. Zhang Yue asked An Tao and Chen Mu to go to Goryeo as envoys to find out the truth and officially restored diplomatic relations with Goryeo.
Why were the diplomatic relations between Goryeo and Song Dynasty interrupted?
This depends on the war between Liao and Goryeo.
Starting from the fourth year of the reign of Liao Tonghe, Goryeo and Liao fought three wars in total. Although Liao's national power overwhelmed Goryeo, the battle was not easy. The first two times were disastrous victories, and the third and final time was simply defeated by Goryeo.
Defeated.
In this battle, many generals of the Liao Kingdom were killed, and only a few thousand of the 100,000 elite Liao Army (Tianyun Army, Pishi Army) escaped with their lives.
Afterwards, the Liao Dynasty negotiated peace with Goryeo, but the Liao Kingdom still built Baozhou City east of the Yalu River to threaten Goryeo, and Goryeo built the Thousand-mile Great Wall to defend against the Khitans.
Before the three campaigns between Liao and Goryeo, Goryeo had been pursuing the policy of crossing the sea and attacking the Song Dynasty in order to fight against the Khitan.
However, after Song and Liao concluded the Chanyuan Alliance and before Liao began to attack Goryeo for the second time, the Song Dynasty had already turned neutral.
Afterwards, the Liao Kingdom also wanted to use the Song Army to conquer Goryeo. The Empress Dowager Liu E was in power at the time, and she planned to agree, but she gave up after being opposed by Prime Minister Lu Yijian.
After the third war, Goryeo stopped using the reign title of the Song Dynasty and accepted the reign title of the Liao Kingdom. Due to the change of suzerainty, diplomatic relations between Goryeo and Song Dynasty were almost severed.
After that, Goryeo almost stopped paying tribute to the Song Dynasty. It was not until the fourth year of Xining that the leader of Goryeo Dynasty sent Jin Ti, a civil servant, to pay tribute to the Song Dynasty. After that, he paid tribute to the Song Dynasty four times in a row.
Chen Mu said: "This Goryeo claims to bear the name of Goguryeo."
"I heard that Goryeo had a relationship with the Liao envoy. The Liao envoy said to the Goryeo envoy, you are the land of Silla. The land of Goguryeo is mine."
The Koryo envoy retorted, no, our country is the old country of Koryo, so it is called Koryo, and its capital is Pyongyang. In terms of geographical boundaries, Tokyo, the upper country, is all within our territory, so how can we call it erosion? Moreover, the inside and outside of the Yalu River are also within our territory.
"
"In fact, Goguryeo was destroyed by the Tang Dynasty long ago, and most of its people were captured and brought to China. Now they are just Silla people, and they also call themselves Goguryeo."
"However, Fu Zhenggong said that Goryeo called itself a barbarian. After Qi, it was an old state of three Koreas. The style of poetry, books, etiquette and justice was not inferior to China. The Khitan used troops to control Goryeo; Goryeo also fought hard, but had no choice but to surrender."
Cai Bian asked: "Why did Goryeo take the initiative to communicate with China for decades?"
Chen Mu said: "Korean king Wang Hui was friendly to China. It is said that Wang Hui often recited the Huayan Sutra and prayed to be born in China in the next life. Once Wang Hui dreamed of going to Bianjing to look at the lanterns, and wrote a poem,
Yuan Ye dreamed that he went to Bianjing to watch the lanterns, and asked the envoy whether the scene in his dream was the same as that in Bianjing."
"Even the Goryeo court had many officials from the same dynasty serving as officials. For example, in June of the fourth year of Huangyou, Zhang Ting, a Jinshi of the Song Dynasty, voted for Goryeo. The leader of Goryeo admired him very much. He compared him with Le Yi, Lu Ji and Er Xie San Zhang.
He was immediately appointed secretary-general."
"When I was sent to Goryeo, I heard that fifteen officials of this dynasty had served under their king."
Cai Bian said: "Since there is a king who admires China so much, it is true that poetry, calligraphy and etiquette are not inferior to China."
Chen Mu said: "Previously, the king was seriously ill and asked envoys to come to this court to seek medical advice."
"However, because his king was not canonized by this dynasty, he was only canonized by the Liao Kingdom, so this dynasty calls him King Quan Goryeo."
"Speaking more carefully, Goryeo must not be looked down upon by foreigners. All Goryeo texts are in Chinese. When I was sent as envoy to Goryeo, I felt like a home away from home. Everyone admired me as an envoy of the Han Dynasty."
"I inspected the country and found that the Imperial Academy completely imitated the Song Dynasty and imitated the teaching methods of Hu Yuan after Xining reformed the Imperial Academy."
"Cui Chong, his domestic servant, also established a private school called Jiuzhai School. This man was known as Confucius of the East China Sea. I heard that he had so many apprentices that he filled the streets. In addition to Cui Chong, there were many Confucian scholars who could speak Chinese.
, he was also extremely respectful to me, and when I asked for advice on the classics, everyone was as respectful as a student."
"In fact, in my opinion, their knowledge of Confucian classics is not bad, but their poetry is not worth mentioning."
Having said this, Chen Mu couldn't help but think of himself as a heavenly dynasty, and a first-class sense of superiority arose spontaneously.
After hearing this, Zhang Yue couldn't help but sigh that this is the influence of ideology. There is no need to build a place for cultural exchanges. The whole country of Goryeo brought their own food and worshiped the rules and regulations of the Song Dynasty.
The monarch himself was a fan of the Song Dynasty. He would rather risk offending the Liao Kingdom than send envoys to China to pay tribute and learn from the scriptures.
However, the relationship between countries is not based solely on one ideology.
Zhang Yue said: "The country of Goryeo is full of wolf ambitions. There is a famous saying in the country, first fight the chicken, then fight the duck. It means to get the chicken forest first, and then collect the duck green."
"Domestically, it will inherit Silla (Gilim) and regard itself as Goguryeo."
Zhang Yue's few words brought Chen Mu back from his good impression of Goryeo. In fact, it is indeed a great thing for Goryeo to defeat Liao and maintain its independence.
Historically, the level of the emperors and ministers of Goryeo was not low. On the Korean Peninsula, Khitan, Goryeo, and Jurchen were also one of the Three Kingdoms. Goryeo had always wanted to annex the Jurchen and compete with the Liao Kingdom.
Goryeo obtained part of the Jurchen land (six cities in Jiangdong) through the Liao Kingdom, which not only helped the Liao Kingdom weaken the Jurchen strength, but also expanded its own power.
Later, Song Huizong always wanted to contact the Jurchens to fight against the Liao Kingdom. The Korean envoys secretly warned the Song Dynasty through medical officers that the Jurchens were ambitious and must not form an alliance with them. It was the right choice to fight against the Jurchens together with the Liao Kingdom.
It's a pity that Song Huizong didn't listen.
Zhang Yue said: "Since the Lord of Goryeo is seeking medical advice, this dynasty should send envoys and medical officers to visit him again."
"I heard that the leader of the country admired Su Shi, so he sent Su Shi to Goryeo and gave him a thousand pieces of Beji cloth!"
Zhang Yue thought to himself, since the Liao Kingdom was determined to protect Dangxiang's alliance in this way, then don't blame me for the alliance between the Song Dynasty and Goryeo.
Su Shi's personality charm is not only in China, but also has many fans in Korea and Japan. It would be perfect for him to be the envoy.
Of course, ideology cannot be eaten as food, and there must be interests in the exchanges between countries.
And such mass-produced cotton cloth was used as a means to open the door of Goryeo.