Brother Song Taizu

Chapter 274 How to deal with the enemy?

After the war machine was essentially started, the Song Dynasty court also started to rotate. So far, because Zhao Kuangyin and Zhao Guangmei are still alive, the entire Song Dynasty has shown a strange state. Although it is not very efficient at ordinary times, it is even a bit parliamentary. , but at the critical moment when the two of them stepped out, the province immediately turned into a rubber stamp and returned to the feeling of a dictatorship.

That is to say, the efficiency becomes extremely high.

The two of them can be regarded as division of labor and cooperation. After Zhao Guangyi left, Zhao Kuangyin went directly to the army and met with military governors and even military leaders. He even summoned officials from the Privy Council to a meeting at night to discuss this time. Whether the matter requires a large-scale war, and how to fight the war if a large-scale war occurs.

Zhao Guangmei first convened a meeting with the prime ministers of Menxia Province to characterize the incident and the scale of the court's response.

Of course, there is also the issue of appeasing public opinion. In Zhao Guangmei's view, this is actually the most serious problem in the Song Dynasty.

After so many years, Zhao Guangmei has become extremely determined not to be a dictator, but she still dares not give too much power to the people below because she is afraid and vigilant of the people.

If the power of the common people is too great, the court will be short-sighted and easily borrow money from commercial banks to provide the common people with a good life. Even military expenditures may be cut and used as welfare benefits to the common people, leaving a pile of arrears for future generations to repay.

Individual people love their children more than themselves, but as a group, they don't care about their offspring at all. It's all about me being happy. Many people may even think that if I'm unmarried and infertile, what the hell do I care? Descendants, why should I use my money to give flowers to future generations?

In this way, in at least 50 years, even if the Song Dynasty is the only super-powerful country now, it may turn itself into a second-rate weak country because of this. In another 30 to [-] years, it will be reverse colonized by the Khitan Shiwei or something like that. .

The eyes of the masses are sharp.But the brain often doesn't work very well.

The public is the diners in the restaurant. Of course they know whether a dish is delicious or not, but you can't let them cook in the kitchen.

Of course, this is only theoretical.

In fact, this balance is not so easy to grasp. Even Zhao Guangmei has a headache, but there is nothing he can do about it. This is also an inevitable price of industrialization.

For example, in this incident, the public's reaction was very intense.

Kaifeng City actually held a petition parade!

Who did these people learn from?

Oh, you learned from me, then it’s okay.

Of course, the current opinions of the masses are directed at Xue Juzheng. They say that it is Xue Juzheng's incompetence and weakness that led to the Khitan people's increasing arrogance.

Although everyone in the Song Dynasty knew that it was His Highness the King of Qin who advocated being friendly to the Liao and wanted to marry a Khitan as a queen in order to use Yan Yun as a dowry, but no one dared to take it out on the King of Qin if they were angry.

Knowing that you, Xue Juzheng, suffered this on behalf of the King of Qin, I feel wronged to you.

The common people demanded that the Song Dynasty should immediately fight back, tooth for tooth, blood for blood.

The Sixteenth Prefecture of Yanyun is the territory of the Han people, and it is also the dowry of our beloved Queen Qin. It can be recovered peacefully, but other areas must be killed, and the Khitans must be killed ten times or a hundred times to take revenge!Anyone who crosses the rut should be killed!

Some people have even shouted for Xue Juzheng to abdicate.

In the Song Dynasty, it was the political bottom line not to make people guilty for their words. Zhao Kuangyin never broke this rule when he was in power. From now on, this rule must be an iron rule among the iron rules. Naturally, the court has nothing to do with these people. .

Xiao Chuo's Khitan embassy was the hardest-hit area among the worst-hit areas, so much so that she had to stand up personally as Princess Qin in order to suppress the surging crowd. This was really thanks to Zhao Guangmei's popularity among the people, especially His status among the people of Kaifeng was high enough, almost like a saint, otherwise the angry people might really rush in, kill the Khitan people inside, and then set fire to it.

Isn’t this a brave folk custom?

But other Khitan merchants were not so lucky. Over the years, there are actually quite a lot of Liao people doing business in Kaifeng, and most of them are Yanyun Han people, but when they go crazy collectively, no one cares whether they are Yanyun Han people. They are still Khitan people, and there are a lot of people fishing in troubled waters who want to buy them for zero yuan.

Within one day, more than half of the Liao trading houses, and even some shops owned by Song people, were smashed and robbed just because they sold some Liao salt, Liao porcelain, woolen sweaters, etc.

Therefore, the most important thing for Zhao Guangmei now is to discuss with Xue Juzheng and the imperial court how to suppress these angry public opinions and make them shut up.Of course Xue Juzheng felt aggrieved.

People outside are calling for me to abdicate, but you still want me to control public opinion and suppress demonstrations?

I am so unworthy of this emperor. Can you please choose Gao Xian?
Zhao Guangmei could only comfort him and said: "Old Xue, don't get excited, don't get excited. I know it's difficult for you, and it's difficult for me too. These people, on the surface, are coming for you, but in fact they are coming for me. Well, we all have to endure the hardship together."

Xue Juzheng said helplessly: "Why don't you, Your Highness, I have wronged you and you become the emperor for two days, and we can talk about it after this matter is over, okay? If the people's hostility is so strong, shouldn't the hostility in the army be less?" ? This political system was all designed by you. Do you think I, the emperor, have the courage to offend the Imperial Army? You designed the system yourself!!"

"I know, I know, I know that I designed the system myself. Isn't this a special situation? Yelvxian and the others are already crazy. The situation wants to make us crazy together. We can fight this battle between Song and Liao, and we can fight it. We can't be afraid of war, but at least we can't have this kind of restless mood. My eldest brother and I have already discussed it. Regardless of whether it's a letter or a force this time, the Liao Kingdom must be destroyed. The problem is, such a big threat Rage, our army of the Song Dynasty, you also know this military discipline, have you forgotten the lessons of Sichuan and Shu? These beasts can commit such heinous crimes in Sichuan and Shu, this time they encountered the Khitan people who committed the crime first , if this public opinion is not suppressed, then we won’t be able to kill someone and bleed into a river, right? Yelvxian just wants us to kill him and bleed into a river, so he fell into his trap."

"Hmph, Your Highness, you are very considerate. You are very kind to these Khitan people."

Xue Juzheng dared to talk to Zhao Guangmei like this, and it was naturally obvious that he was really very angry this time.

"Old Xue, it's not that I'm nice to these Khitan people. I'm really thinking about the long term. Not to mention me, even Yelu Abaoji knew that he wanted to build buildings for the Han people after they plundered them and returned home. Seoul was built to alleviate the homesickness of the Han people. Even the Liao people knew that they had to make important use of the Han people in Yanyun and pay less attention to the corvee and less gifts in order to win Yanyun's heart. We can't be worse than the Liao people, right? The Khitan population is small. There are 400-800 million, maybe [-]-[-] million, is it possible that we can kill them all?"

"Or, let's just build a large open-air prison on the grassland, drive all the Khitans in, and let them fend for themselves? Isn't this just an animal? Rabbits bite people when they are anxious, let alone the Khitans. ?”

"Since ancient times, there were two times when the Han people were most powerful. One was during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, and the other was during the reign of Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty. However, during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, although he sealed the wolf in Xu, regained Hexi, and defeated the Xiongnu, he really defeated the Xiongnu. Is it? No, the hatred between the Huns and the Han people is getting stronger day by day, and this war has been fought for hundreds of years, disturbing the border areas and never having peace. He has really played the game of rutting, No matter how ruthless our Song Dynasty is, can we be more ruthless than Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty? Or do you really want to try, but the rutted ones have also been beheaded, how about one move to eradicate the weeds and kill all the people? Everyone has horses, and the grassland is still so big , do you have the ability to kill them all? If you really want to kill them all, why not if I let you bear the infamy and let you go and do it? But you can't kill them all, right?"

"When did the Xiongnu's troubles be generally solved? It was Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty. After the Southern Xiongnu surrendered, it was Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty who allocated a place for them to live in Bingzhou, gave them food, cattle and sheep, taught them how to farm, and even taught them how to farm. He gave them a large number of cups, plates, spoons, iron pots and chopsticks. From then on, although the Xiongnu had small troubles, they never caused major disasters. After the fall of the Han Dynasty, they still regarded themselves as Han ministers. During the Three Kingdoms, most of the princes had no one. The Xiongnu Chanyu was against the Han Dynasty. The court is loyal.”

"Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, who also achieved a great victory, also raised bandits. After the Turkic Khan captured him, he made him dance. He still gave the Turks a piece of land outside the wall, still allowed them to herd horses and sheep, and even did trade with them. , allowed them to come to the Tang Dynasty to serve as officials, what was the result? During the 300 years of prosperity of the Tang Dynasty, did the Turks still cause trouble? Aren't the Turks generals loyal to the Tang Dynasty from beginning to end? As for Wu Zetian and Tang Xuanzong, How can we create a prosperous age? It’s not all Taizong’s legacy. During the An Lushan Rebellion, An Lushan’s men were all Han generals, and the Tang court’s men were all damn Hu generals.”

"Of course, it doesn't mean that you can't be tough when dealing with foreigners. Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty and Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty both win the fight first and then forgive. Repaying evil with kindness must be based on the premise that I can destroy you at any time. Only Only the strong are qualified to forgive the weak and talk about letting go of hatred. If you can't even win a fight, you can lick your big face and talk about kindness and peace. If you say to the enemy who can't beat us, let's put down hatred. Then this country is indeed not far from destruction."

"Today, the military strength of our Song Dynasty, compared with the Khitan, has far exceeded that of the past. When Han Wu and Tang Zong faced the Xiongnu Turks, I can do what Han Wu and Tang Zong did. Then Who do you think I should learn from?"

"This people, once they gather into a nation, whether they are from the grasslands or farmers, they are all the same. The more they suppress, massacre, and persecute them, the poorer they become. This is strange. The poorer they are, the poorer they become. Sir, you can't keep suppressing it, right? Even if you can keep suppressing it, sooner or later you will relax."

"The poorer they get, the poorer they get, and eventually these people will become overpopulated and unable to live. What will they do when they can no longer live? They must pick up hatred and fight the feud that has been suppressing them. As long as they do If you don’t die, you will go to death.”

"We can win once, ten times, or a hundred times, but who can really win all the time? Can you guarantee that our Song Dynasty will never decline? As long as we can't kill them all, there will definitely be a comeback. As long as someone wins once, all old and new grudges will be repaid together. Porcelain can never touch tiles, that's the truth."

"Our Song Dynasty is a wise country. Our history is thick enough for us to learn too many lessons from it. We are not the kind of short-sighted people who can only see the interests of one generation or two and suddenly rely on good luck. As for the rising nouveau riche, now that the Song Dynasty is so powerful, we should consider everything for future generations."

"Then what do you think the court should do now to appease public opinion?"

"Isn't Tian Qinzuo coming back soon? He led a group of spies and annihilated one of the two armies of the Liao Kingdom, ensuring the peace of Hedong and Guanzhong. This should be a tribute to the title of marquis and general. Didn't you realize that Wang Jien has been recently? Has your grin reached behind your ears during this period? Their West Factory has finally produced a real talent."

"What we have to do now is to brag about Tian Qinzuo's achievements and publicize this matter to me over and over again. We must give them all the honors we can and let our people know that although the Khitan people are bad, But we didn’t suffer a loss this time.”

"Second, let the Khitan people in Kaifeng take to the streets and parade, let them also oppose, condemn Yelvxian's perverse behavior, play the card of friendship between Song and Liao, let the soldiers of the Khitan camp ask for a fight, but don't really let them out, just Let them wander back and forth between Kaifeng and Luoyang, march back and forth, and invite them to fight, let them scream and fight Yelvxian, and try to distinguish ordinary Khitans from Yelvxian."

"In addition, the wedding of Xiao Chuo and I has been brought forward. The scale of the wedding will be increased, and the budget will be increased... 1000 million yuan. Don't be afraid of extravagance and waste. The scale must be large. I want more than 300 people from all over the city of Kaifeng. Everyone can participate. On the day of the wedding, Xiao Siwen personally handed me the map of the Sixteenth Prefecture of Yanyun, the account book, the documents and letters from the Southern Privy Council, and the seal ribbon. This was the wedding daughter of their Shulu Department. The dowry, I must see the dowry on the wedding day.”

"Finally, I won't come forward. You go and summon the Shiwei envoy. We in the Song Dynasty can be good people, but some people must be evil people. You tell them that my eldest brother and I are very angry. The time has come for them to show off. What weapons do they want?" I, the Great Song Dynasty, will give them all and let them beat me hard. I, the Great Song Dynasty, want a Jingguan made of Khitan heads as a gift. Tell him, if he can't do it, I will find trouble for him. .”

"This...can this calm the turbulent public opinion in Kaifeng?"

"Hey~, then it depends on the abilities of my second brother and Li Hanchao. If the losses are not big, public opinion may be able to be guided, but if too many people in Hebei die, it will still be very troublesome."

(End of this chapter)