Chapter 254: Discussion of sending troops
In fact, it is best if the Liao Kingdom does not admit it. Otherwise, the Liao Kingdom directly says that I did it. What should the Song Dynasty do?
How can we explain to the people on the border if we don’t send troops?
Sending troops is not a big deal, or the Song Dynasty is afraid of the Liao Kingdom and does not want to break up with the Liao Kingdom.
Therefore, the two sides formed a silent tacit understanding. Every year when the Song Dynasty's border areas were plundered, envoys would come to question the Liao Kingdom.
In the eyes of the Liao Kingdom, the Song Dynasty's behavior was just incompetent barking and they didn't care at all.
"Of course not." Hong Ze said: "After my emperor succeeded to the throne, he also wanted to solve this situation. This year, the Song Dynasty was repairing border cities. There were civilians everywhere on the border. Logically, no nobles would send troops. Go and plunder. But the King of Qin said that the Song Dynasty was repairing the border city and wanted to send troops to destroy it.
The two countries have an alliance, so my emperor naturally refused to agree. There are many supporters in China. My emperor can only disagree with sending troops, but he can't stop the king of Qin from sending a small group of cavalry to harass. "Brother Hong Xian, what do you want to say?" Yan Kuan frowned.
Hong Ze talked for a long time and kept complaining, but there was no need at all.
The Liao Kingdom has always refused to admit it, and the Song Dynasty has also acquiesced in this statement. What is the significance of Hongze revealing this matter?
“My emperor is also very guilty about this matter. The King of Qin is so powerful that my emperor cannot stop it. However, it can provide a hiding place for the cavalry sent by the King of Qin! If the Song Dynasty could send troops to put these things away The cavalry encircled and suppressed, and the King of Qin suffered heavy losses, so he would naturally give up." Hong Ze said.
Yan Kuan was shocked when he heard this and looked at Hong Ze in disbelief.
Hong Ze just looked at Yan Kuan with a smile and said nothing.
After a while, Yan Kuan came back to his senses, frowned and started thinking.
It was no secret that Yelu Chongyuan was at odds with the Liao Emperor.
His first reaction was that the Liao Emperor wanted to use the Song Dynasty to weaken Yelu Chongyuan's strength.
Even if you eliminate a few of the small groups of cavalry that harass the border, it doesn't make much sense.
But it would be different if we could find their hiding place.
There is a large buffer area between the Song Dynasty and the Liao Kingdom.
The Liao Kingdom sent plundering cavalry. They would not plunder once and then go back. Instead, they would have hiding places in buffer areas.
Each time the money and food obtained from the robbery will be transported there, and then rest there for a few days before continuing the robbery.
The looting will continue from the autumn harvest until the snow falls, and then it will be withdrawn to the Liao Kingdom.
The Song Dynasty actually knew it, but they couldn't find it.
If you send too few people, you will never come back; if you send too many people, you may start a war.
But if there is a definite hiding place for the Liao cavalry, they can be captured in one fell swoop before the Liao cavalry can react.
Although the Liao Kingdom's plundering cavalry is not large per unit, the number of people gathered together is large.
Every year, the Liao Kingdom sent about 10,000 cavalry for looting.
If he was surrounded and suppressed, it would be a big blow to Yelu Chongyuan.
The Liao State did not admit that those horse bandits were sent by the Liao State. Even if the Song Dynasty wiped them out, the Liao State would only suffer this loss.
Thinking of this, Yan Kuan was indeed a little moved.
It would be a great achievement if he brought this news back.
Yan Kuan was not dazzled by the news. What if this was a trap set by the Liao Kingdom?
However, Yan Kuan quickly denied this possibility.
It is possible for the Liao Kingdom to set a trap for the Song Dynasty, but it is impossible for the Emperor of Liao to cooperate with Yelu Chongyuan to set a trap for the Song Dynasty.
"Brother Yan, winter is not far away now. Once the snow falls in winter, those people will evacuate."
Seeing Yan Kuan's delay in responding, Hong Ze added a sense of urgency to Yan Kuan.
Hearing this, Yan Kuan gritted his teeth and said: "I can't make the decision on this matter, I can only report it!"
"I understand this, and I believe that the Emperor and ministers of the Song Dynasty will do it. Make a wise choice. If the cavalry sent to plunder are defeated this time, those nobles may not dare to send troops to plunder the Song Dynasty in the future," Hong Ze said with a smile.
The two chatted for a while, and Hong Ze told Yan Kuan where he was hiding, then said goodbye and left.
Yan Kuan saw Hong Ze off, and the officials who came with him as envoy asked about Hong Ze's purpose.
Yan Kuan didn't say it out loud and just made excuses to get by.
And told everyone that he would set off back to the Song Dynasty tomorrow.
Of course those officials didn't believe it, and since Yan Kuan was so eager to go back, there was obviously something wrong.
But if Yan Kuan didn’t say anything, there was nothing they could do.
Some people also said that the purpose of this mission was not achieved and that they could not go back so soon.
But Yan Kuan was the mastermind. He insisted on going back, and the others had no choice but to obey.
On the same day, Yan Kuan informed the Liao officials responsible for entertaining them that they would return to the city tomorrow.
The Liao officials pretended to stay for a while and then reported it.
Soon news came from Emperor Liao that he approved the matter.
Early the next morning, Yan Kuan and others took a carriage and left Shangjing.
A few days later, Yan Kuan and his party arrived at Bazhou City.
He rested for a day in Bazhou, wrote a letter in his own handwriting, and rushed it to Bianjing for 800 miles. He only set off back to Bianjing the next day.
When Yan Kuan left for Bianjing, Sheng Changsong also received a letter from Zhao Xing.
Zhao Xingxin said that he agreed to Li Ge’s request to speed up the transaction and complete the transaction as soon as possible.
After Sheng Changsong read the letter, he quickly sent someone to contact Li Ge to discuss the transaction.
Bazhou is more than a thousand miles away from Kaifeng. On the evening of the second day, the messenger arrived in Bianjing.
After reading the letter, the officials immediately summoned the important ministers of the court to discuss the matter. Some people advocate that troops should be sent out to encircle and suppress the enemy, while others worry that this is a trap.
Yan Kuan felt that Emperor Liao and Yelu Chongyuan would not unite to set a trap for the Song Dynasty.
But it does not mean that the Liao Emperor will not use Yelu Chongyuan to trick him.
Perhaps sending troops to harass this time was Yelu Chongyuan’s idea.
The Liao Emperor also wanted to use the Song Dynasty to weaken Yelu Chongyuan's power.
But the Liao people were not fools. The Song Dynasty was able to find the hiding place of the Liao army and complete the encirclement and suppression without the Liao being aware of it. It was probably because they got the news in advance.
Yelü Chongyuan has suffered too much, so he will definitely not give up.
In order to clear himself of suspicion, the Liao Emperor would also question why the Song Dynasty sent troops into the buffer zone between the two countries, thereby forcing the Song Dynasty to increase the annual currency.
The public said that the public was right, and the mother-in-law said that the mother-in-law was right. The officials were very hesitant for a while and couldn't make up their minds.
…………
The postman who delivered the urgent letter for eight hundred miles had to change horses but not people along the way. Along the way, he had to open and close the city, even at night.
Even in Bianjing, riding horses is allowed.
It was impossible to hide such a big movement.
After Zhao Xing learned the news, he hurried to the palace.
Arrived at the palace, he learned that his father and a group of ministers were discussing matters, so Zhao Xing could only wait in the side hall.
After waiting for about half an hour, a eunuch came over to report that the meeting was over and the official asked him to pass.
Hearing this, Zhao Xing came to Longtuge. After saluting, he asked: "Father, I heard that there is an urgent call from the north eight hundred miles away, but what happened on the northern border?"
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"It's not the northern border." The official shook his head, asked Zhao Xing to sit down, and told Zhao Xing the matter.
Zhao Xing frowned slightly after hearing this, and combined with Li Ge's sudden proposal to speed up the transaction, he came to a conclusion.
The Song Dynasty could not be strong-willed in the face of the Liao Kingdom. In addition to fearing the Liao Kingdom, the most important reason was that there was no danger to defend the north.
Although in recent years, the Song Dynasty developed strict defensive measures in the north in order to defend against the Liao cavalry.
However, if the Liao Kingdom invaded on a large scale, it would still be difficult to resist.
The Liao Kingdom only needed to break through the protective measures in the north, and did not need to break through the frontier cities at all. It could directly break into the rear and cause destruction.
There were very few defenders in the rear cities. Due to the lack of cavalry in the Song Dynasty, although there were many troops in the border cities, they did not dare to go out to fight with the Liao Kingdom under those circumstances.
If there is a dangerous pass in the north of the Song Dynasty, it can be defended even if it cannot defeat the Liao Kingdom.
Naturally, I will not be afraid of the Liao Kingdom, and I will not give him any yearly coins.
The emergence of cement made the Liao Kingdom unable to sit still.
After all, with cement, it is possible to create artificial dangers. Then the Song Dynasty will not have to face the threat of Liao soldiers at any time.
This is like having a neighbor who is honest and easy to bully. There is not even a wall between the two families, so you can bully them at any time.
This neighbor pays protection fees every year in order not to be bullied.
Suddenly one day, the neighbor wanted to build a wall between the two houses, and the evil neighbor next door naturally had to find a way to stop it.
However, the Liao Kingdom was not stable internally, and the Liao Emperor did not have the confidence to go to war with the Song Dynasty.
So he wanted to send a small group of cavalry to harass and prevent the Song Dynasty from repairing the city.
Yelu Zhongyuan was eager to get the secret recipe of perfume and wanted to speed up the transaction. He thought this was a good opportunity, so he volunteered to take over the job.
The Liao Emperor also wanted to take this opportunity to consume Yelu Chongyuan's power, so he agreed.
These are guesses made by Zhao Xing based on the existing intelligence.
Maybe there are some other factors involved, but the two points he guessed are highly likely.
If this is the case, what those ministers are worried about may happen.
After all, the Liao Emperor did not want to see the Song Dynasty, a neighbor who was easy to bully, so he built a wall and had the confidence not to be bullied.
After the Song Dynasty weakened Yelu Chongyuan's strength, the Liao Emperor would inevitably use the situation to force the Song Dynasty to promise not to build the Great Wall on the border.
"Fu'er, do you think we should send troops?" the official asked.
Hearing this, Zhao Xing hesitated for a while and said, "Father, I think we can send troops!"
"Why?" the official asked.
"Father, the Liao Emperor may use the topic to make use of the situation, but before Yelu Zhongyuan is solved, at most it will only threaten the Song Dynasty and not build the Great Wall to connect the border cities.
The worst thing will happen then. Yes. But the encirclement and suppression of the looting Liao cavalry was of great benefit to the Song Dynasty.
The people in the north were robbed by the Liao cavalry disguised as horse bandits every year. The imperial court never took any action in the north. It has almost lost the support of the people," Zhao Xing said seriously.
In his opinion, it was impossible for the Liao Emperor to send troops to the Song Dynasty before he solved Yelu Zhongyuan. Even if Chen Bing threatened the border, it was unlikely.
And if Yelu Chongyuan solves the Liao Emperor, the Liao Kingdom will inevitably be in chaos for a period of time, and there will be no threat.
Zhao Xing just said that the imperial court has lost the support of the people in the north, but there is another sentence he did not say.
The Song Dynasty repeatedly made concessions to the Liao Kingdom, which also made the soldiers lose confidence in facing the Liao Kingdom.
If we can encircle and suppress thousands of Liao cavalry this time, it will be a great boost to the morale of the people and the military!
(End of this chapter)