Brother Song Taizu

Chapter 158: I have money and soldiers, so I speak a little domineeringly.

Look at the tributes paid by the Uighurs.

Let’s look at those of you who returned to the rebel army.

They sent dozens of horses, not even a hundred. To be honest, the value of the few horses you sent as tribute may not be enough for the money you spent on entertaining you for more than a month. .

Are you ashamed?

He saw Cao Yanlu's livid face and sneered: "How can we, a small country with foreign species of barbarians, even dream of being protected? If the Liao Dynasty is strong, it will serve the Liao Dynasty, and if the Song Dynasty is strong, it will serve the Song Dynasty. How can there be any loyalty at all? Your Highness, I It is really difficult for the Guiyi Army to pay tribute, and it is a shame that the Tubo and Uighurs block traffic."

Before he could finish speaking, his uncle interrupted him with a smile: "That's wrong. The Uighurs and the Song Dynasty are the kingdoms of father and son. How could they prevent the brothers from the Guiyi Army from paying tribute to the Song Dynasty? As for Tubo in Liangzhou, Now, I'm afraid they don't have the ability or the courage."

Cao Yanlu held it in for a long time and then said to Zhao Guangmei: "Your Highness, the Han people in Gua and Sha Prefectures are all bullied by the Uighurs. You must make the decision for us and the Northwest Guzhong."

Seeing this, Zhao Guangmei laughed bitterly, waved her hand to signal the two of them to stop, and then ordered Fan Lou to serve Zhao Dangshu the food. She smiled and said, "I probably know a little about the relationship between the Uighurs and us Han people, okay. Gratitudes and grudges are quite complicated. Besides, today, you Ganzhou Uighurs may not be able to represent the Uighurs as a group. Do you Ganzhou Uighurs still believe in Manichaeism?"

"Um...most of them still believe in Manichaeism, which is what people in the Central Plains call Mingjiao. However, in recent years, due to their connections with the Guiyi Army, many people have begun to turn to Buddhism. After all, Jinshan Kingdom is a Buddhist country. Country?"

Cao Yanlu's expression on the side was obviously not good-looking, and he snorted coldly: "The Jinshan Kingdom is just a temporary deviation of the rebel army, and it has been corrected long ago. As for the theory of the Buddhist Kingdom, it is even more nonsense. Belief in Buddhism is just our personal behavior. It has nothing to do with politics, how can it be called a Buddhist country?"

"Is it irrelevant?"

But Zhao Guangmei suddenly asked.

Cao Yanlu quickly assured: "It has nothing to do with it."

Zhao Guangmei smiled and said: "I can't tell if it's irrelevant, but to be honest, I really don't like religion, neither Mingjiao nor Buddhism. I heard that the Uighurs west of Gaochang have begun to convert to cannibalism. I don’t like that religion even more, is that okay?”

"Ah this..."

For a moment, the two of them couldn't help but look at each other.

They thought a lot about the issues or conditions that His Highness would discuss with them, but they never expected that the first blow would be to strike at religion.

'I've heard people say that His Highness the King of Qin is very similar to Emperor Sejong. Isn't this... also an enemy of Buddha? '

The emperors of the Central Plains have never been very fond of religion, which is understandable. However, there are not many who are as radical as Chai Rong, who are close to destroying Buddhism. If this kind of thing is done in the two states of Guasha, it will be really bad. It was so terrible that the world was in chaos.

This is actually even more true in Ganzhou, the Uyghur state. If someone is as radical as Chai Rong to destroy Buddhism, it would be much easier to directly overthrow their Uyghur aristocratic regime. This is impossible to agree to, and there is no need to talk about it. Let’s talk about a matter of principle.

But both of them were silenced.

"Don't worry, I won't be as radical as Sejong. What about religious freedom? Let the people believe whatever they want. But I personally don't really like these things. We, those in power, should keep silent. It’s the principles of chaos and strange gods.”

"This...then may I ask what your Highness means?"

"I am a person who likes Confucianism."

"........."

"........."

Zhao Dangzhu was okay, after all, he had been in Kaifeng for a relatively short time, while Cao Yanlu had been in Kaifeng for more than a month.

Do you like Confucianism?
Do you have no idea what your image is in the eyes of Confucian scholars?There are even rumors in the market that after you inherit the throne, you will burn books and humiliate scholars.

Zhao Guangmei also scratched her hair in embarrassment and couldn't help laughing.

Then he continued: "How deeply the world misunderstands me. To tell you from the bottom of my heart, I really like Confucianism, and I think from the bottom of my heart that Confucianism is the most useful and sacred knowledge among all the scholars. To put it bluntly, Yes, Confucianism is the foundation and foundation of our nation. It is Confucianism that constructs the national identity of our Han people. Therefore, the country can be destroyed, but Confucianism cannot be destroyed. I just don’t like to use Confucianism to govern the country.”

"In my opinion, the people of a country, or a region, can only abide by Confucian etiquette and laws, and the people all act in accordance with clan etiquette and laws. People all agree on the basic principles of loyalty, filial piety, benevolence, propriety, righteousness, integrity, shame, etc. Confucian moral principles, even if they are barbarians, are still Chinese. Is this how the national identity comes? And if the people of a place no longer regard propriety, justice, integrity and shame as the basic principles for conducting themselves in the world, how can they be said to be descendants of Yan and Huang?"

Naturally, Cao Yanlu and Gui Yijun were criticized for these words, which made them turn green in the face.

"Your Highness, please...please make it clear."

"I hope people have the freedom to believe in religion and the freedom not to believe in religion, but if they have to believe, shouldn't they also shave their heads and become a monk? There are also those rules and precepts that must be observed, right? For example, don't kill or eat meat. Yes, anyway, all the monks in the Central Plains are like this, but it doesn’t seem to be the case in your area? So, is this Buddha you believe in the Buddha of the Han people in the Central Plains, or the Buddha passed down by the Tubo people back then?"

Cao Yanlu was shocked when he heard this and nodded: "I...I understand. When I get back, I will tell my father about this and make sure that the Buddhists in Guasha and Shazhou...are ordained and become monks."

Zhao Guangmei nodded with satisfaction and continued: "At the same time, the trading bank will invest at least 100 million yuan to establish schools in Gua and Shazhou to teach Confucianism and teach people poetry, calligraphy and etiquette. I heard that you are in Guazhou The state still has an imperial examination? Isn’t that good? Anyone who has achieved a ranking in your imperial examination, if possible, might as well let them come to Kaifeng again to take an additional test."

"As for the Uighurs, to be honest, I don't care about your tribute, but your attitude really makes me very satisfied. It doesn't matter if you pay tribute or not. As long as everyone's trade is smooth in the future, I won't Deliberately suppressing you.”

"Thank you, Your Highness."

"Listen to me. But to be honest, I don't understand the Mingjiao religion very well. There are not many people in the Song Dynasty who believe in it. If possible, I hope you can send envoys from the Song Dynasty like the Tang Dynasty did. Studying in Kaifeng, I heard that there is something else in your religion...Holy Fire User?"

Zhao Dangshu could only bite the bullet and said: "Yes."

"I will also build a fire worship temple in Kaifeng. The Holy Fire Envoy...should be canonized or selected by Kaifeng in the future?"

Zhao Dangshu was shocked and said quickly: "Your Highness, the Holy Fire Envoy is selected from within the sect. I have never heard of anyone being appointed by the imperial court. This is truly unprecedented and unreasonable."

"Oh, now we have it. From now on, all the priests in the Ming Sect, such as the Holy Fire Envoys and Saints, will be appointed and dismissed by the Song Dynasty court, okay?" Zhao Dangshu looked confused and simply lowered his head and said nothing. .

He didn't dare to say no, but he would never dare to say yes.

This is not a matter of religious belief at all. The Song Dynasty just wanted to swallow up their Ganzhou Uighurs.

This is not a country of father and son. If we agree to this, I am afraid that the Uighurs will be extinct within 50 years.

In other words, they are going to be assimilated by the Han people.

Seeing his appearance, Zhao Guangmei curled her lips and sneered, then turned to Cao Yanlu and said: "30 shi of compressed biscuits per year, 60 guan of money, 40 pieces of cloth, 100 million arrows, and [-] sets of armor for men and horses. , as long as the road can be kept open, the Song Dynasty will unconditionally support the Guiyi Army. At the same time, share the shares of your Royal Commercial Bank of the Song Dynasty, give me the Song Dynasty to pay tribute to some horses on a regular basis, and allow the commercial companies to enclose the land. The details are the same as those of Dang Xiang. No questions. ?”

Cao Yanlu was stunned for a long time before he stuttered: "Is this every...every year?"

"Yes, every year. In addition, I also know that the population structure on your side is relatively complicated. The key is that there are too few Han people and the military strength is not strong. From now on, the Song Dynasty will continue to arrange elite soldiers of the Imperial Guard to continue to serve as individuals. They are sent to Dunhuang to organize and train the army. They will still be professional soldiers in Dunhuang. You don’t have to worry about the military salary. It will be paid by the trading company, but I, the Song Dynasty, will send a supervisory army."

After saying that, he turned to look at Zhao Dang and swore: "I don't think you have any objections, right? Can you ensure that the road is smooth?"

Zhao Dangswore: “…………”

He was quite fat and had already begun to spit out oil.

"Also, I heard that there are a bunch of Uighurs coming from Qiuchi to herd their cattle on the sandbank. This is a bit too much. If the Uighurs are grazing, let them go to Ganzhou. What are they doing on the sandbank? Within the year, I will drive them all away, and those who refuse to leave, regardless of gender, will be killed. The vacant land will be used to house the military households that the trading companies have moved from the mainland. Is there any problem?"

Cao Yanlu immediately said excitedly: "No, there is no problem."

Then he asked Zhao Dangshu: "Do you have any questions?"

Zhao Dangshu's face turned pale and he said: "But Shazhou... Shazhou Uighurs, they are from Qiuci and believe in Buddhism. It was precisely for this reason that... they were allowed to go to Shazhou to graze. If they enter Ganzhou in large numbers..."

"Look, after all this talk, isn't this coming back? After a long time, it's not about religion? Isn't it good for the people to decide for themselves whether they want to believe in Buddhism or Mingjiao? As for what this will cause? Social conflicts and the like... What the hell does that have to do with me in the Song Dynasty?! Do you really think I don’t know they are dogs raised by people from the Liao Kingdom?"

Zhao Dangshu's face turned pale after hearing this.

"Foreign Minister... Foreign Minister... No, I dare not agree to this matter. If I do, I can't be the master."

"If you can't be the master, let someone else be the master. If you Uighurs want to pay tribute, this is the requirement, but it's optional or not. But if you dare to block the trade route, it will affect the Song Dynasty's recovery of Hexi and the restoration of the Silk Road. Military strategy, if you attack our Song Dynasty, you will be killed no matter how far away you are."

Zhao Dangshu heard this and his face was as pale as paper.

This...is different from what I imagined.

Don’t they, the Central Plains dynasty, like to have all nations come to court the most?I have come to pay tribute with such sincerity, why can't I turn a blind eye to the conflict between us and the Guiyi Army?
Is it because we are not respectful enough?
Hey ~
If Zhao Guangmei knew what Zhao Dangshu was thinking, he would definitely feel wronged, because he really didn't feel that he was standing up for the Guiyi Army.

He believed that he was still very pragmatic, otherwise he would not have left Cao Yanlu waiting in Kaifeng for a month before seeing him today.

Isn’t it true that the diplomatic model of the Han Dynasty and the Tang Dynasty in the past was not suitable for him? The emperors of the Central Plains always had a deep obsession with the coming of all nations to the court. For example, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, if you dare not come to the court, I dare to destroy you.

But after going to court, they often don’t care about anything else. Many times they even engage in diplomacy to make money at a loss and make a fuss. I don’t know what they are doing. Maybe they just want to feel good when being paid tribute?
I have to say that the Uyghur tribute this time was indeed sincere, and Zhao Guangmei was also very moved. After all, the princess was given away. To be honest, this girl is really my favorite, and this feeling of being held up and fawned over, It's really great.

But apart from having fun, there are no other benefits.Does the Song Dynasty really lack the little money you paid as tribute?
Engaging in diplomacy requires a preset position. It is actually very naive to always think about making everyone surrender, because this is not conducive to mediating the conflicts between the subordinate countries. For example, the Ganzhou Uighurs and the Guiyi Army have a conflict with each other. How is it possible that you want to accept all the conflicts that have happened for hundreds of years and make them your younger brothers? You still want to end the lawsuits with a bowl of water?
The Tang Dynasty did indeed do this, but in fact the conflicts between various ethnic groups during the Tang Dynasty were covered up rather than resolved by the Tang Dynasty's fists.

Zhao Guangmei is very real in this matter. There is no international order in this world that everyone is satisfied with. The so-called international order has always been about power, even hegemony. Some people will definitely benefit from it, and some will suffer from it. Even this The soil can only exist if an order of certain exploitation exists.

If you have to treat everyone equally, and have all nations come to court, and make sure everyone is satisfied on the surface, then you are sick.

Just draw the bottom line, and if you can accept it, continue to pay tribute. I just went too far and bullied you. What's wrong?After all, the Guiyi Army is always different from foreigners like you, right?

Of course, he could not indulge the Guiyi Army, and said to Cao Yanlu, "What about you? It should be fine, right?"

"My lord, I'll report it to my father when I get back. It should be... no problem."

"If there is no problem, let Cao Yuanzhong come to Kaifeng in person to enter the court after returning. The official position in the court will not be small. I guess he will be a tutor, a lieutenant, or a servant, etc., to take care of himself in his old age. As for Whoever he is willing to hand over the Guiyi Army to, whether it is his son or his nephew, then it is up to him, just like Zhang Yichao, being buried in Kaifeng a hundred years later can be regarded as his return to his roots."

"It's... Taifu or Taiwei again." Cao Yanlu complained instinctively.

In fact, everyone has understood by this time that what the Song Dynasty really wanted was not just nominal surrender and tribute. He really wanted to recover Hexi and truly integrate it into the system of the Song Dynasty.

It's just that the methods he gave are indeed milder. It is not like destroying the country directly through war like the Tang Dynasty. Instead, it may take one or even two generations to spend countless money to disintegrate your country. The political power dissolves your culture. For the Uighurs, the ultimate goal seems to be the subjugation of the country and the annihilation of the species.

To put it more civilized, it is called national integration.

"Um……"

Zhao Guangmei was also a little embarrassed, and said with a forced smile: "Understand, is it a characteristic of the Song Dynasty?"

After all, it is a superior official position. Although it certainly has no real power, it does represent respect and honor. At least in name, it should be extremely respected. However, Zhao Kuangyin is a military emperor after all, and he especially likes to throw this kind of position away from others. Like throwing seeds away, there are now more than a dozen of these superior officials in the entire Song Dynasty.

It was an honorary title with no real power, and it naturally became even less valuable if it was given out so much.

Zhao Guangmei patted Cao Yanlu on the shoulder, pointed at Zhao Dangshu and continued: "If they are good after returning, you and your family will unite to fight against Liangzhou Tubo. If they are not good, you will kill them directly. If the Ganzhou Uighurs have any soldiers, If a soldier dares to set foot on Shazhou's land, or supports the Shazhou Uighurs openly or covertly, I will order Zhang Qiong to march westward, and it is time to recover Zhangye."

(End of this chapter)