The man shut up immediately. However, Qu Duan wanted to say "the government is wise", but he held back and didn't dare to say it.

Emperor Zhao sighed, helpless, but continued to ask: "What happened later? The Herdsmen's Office is gone now, so how did you deal with the war horse issue later?"

"So that the officials know, later when Wang Shuwang (Wang Anshi) was in power, he made the Horse Protection Law, which meant that the court's war horses were fostered in the homes of ordinary people, and horse raisers could use the grown horses to offset their taxes..." Another person came forward and listed all the treasures.

Zhao Jiu shook his head again: "I have great respect for Wang Shu, but his new law, as long as it involves the government and the people, will inevitably be suspected of apportionment, and once the apportionment is made, the people will inevitably complain. This method must be the worst of the new laws."

"The government has made up its mind," the people below responded immediately. "So this method was abolished and the government ranches were changed back to the original government-run ranches, but the horses from the border cities were mainly raised in a centralized manner, and they were no longer allowed to breed themselves."

"In other words, no matter what, the horse policy can't escape three categories... the so-called official self-raising and self-breeding, raising with the help of the people, and border trade?" Zhao Jiu sighed.

"Exactly."

"In the long run, we can consider restoring the Herdsman Bureau to allow official management, but we cannot allow civil servants who have no knowledge of animal husbandry to participate... The provincial government and the Privy Council should work together to come up with a proposal." Zhao Jiu gave the order helplessly.

"Yes." The men were obviously absent-minded.

Qu Duan, on the other hand, suddenly raised his hands and said, "If the government sets up a herdsman department, it will probably work."

"What do you mean?" Zhao Jiu looked at him puzzled. "Why are you flattering me now?"

"I am not flattering you, I am speaking the truth." Qu Duan answered earnestly. "I have been in Guanxi and I know that the reason why horses were not raised in the imperial gardens in Guanxi in the past was that they all raised sheep. The sheep in Guanxi are fat and tender, and they are specially used to supply the palace and the capital. It is said that the palace consumed tens of thousands of sheep every year. With the current frugality of the government, I think Guanxi can at least have more horses!"

Zhao Jiu was stunned for a long while, then shook his head and continued, "Establishing a herdsman office is a long-term plan, and raising people by force is the most undesirable, so there is no need to say more. But at present, if we want to solve the urgent problem, we still have to go to the border to trade... But Xixia... Does Xixia have any envoys in Tokyo?"

"Reporting to the emperor...nothing." The Minister of the Ministry of Rites, Zhai Ruwen, hurried out.

"Is there anyone who knows the inside story of Xixia?" Zhao Jiu frowned even more.

As soon as these words were spoken, dozens of people, including civil officials from Zhao Ding and below, and military officials from Qu Duan and below, stood up at once.

Zhao Jiu saw this and realized that Song and Xixia knew each other well, so he simply pointed at Zhai Ruwen and said, "Minister of the Honglu Temple, this is your duty."

"Your Majesty." Zhai Ruwen bowed slightly, then raised his head and looked at him seriously. "I wonder what your Majesty wants to ask about Xixia?"

Zhao Jiu was stunned for a moment... He was completely in the dark about Xixia.

However, seeing the cavalry entering the camp one after another, and it was still early today, Zhao Jiu was happy to listen to the story, so he simply asked directly: "Who is the current ruler of Xixia? How long has he been on the throne? What is his reputation in the country? How is the country's situation? I want to hear the truth."

Although Zhai Ruwen was surprised that Emperor Zhao didn't know the ruler of Western Xia, he immediately responded, "Good instructor, I know. The current ruler of Western Xia is called Li Ganshun. He succeeded to the throne at the age of three and has been in power for forty-five years. He has a very high prestige in Western Xia. These decades are also the most stable decades for Western Xia, and the country is peaceful and the people are safe."

This is somewhat unexpected.

However, Zhao Jiu was only slightly stunned before continuing to ask: "What major events has Li Ganshun accomplished since he ascended the throne? Tell me briefly."

"Reporting to the emperor... Before Li Ganshun was sixteen years old, the government was basically controlled by his mother's family, the Liang family. After his grandmother Liang died, his mother, also a Liang family, continued to control the government. About thirty years ago, his mother, the young Empress Liang, first fought for power with her brothers, destroyed her own Liang family relatives, and acted arbitrarily. Then she used the then-immature Li Ganshun to cause chaos and attacked our Yanfu Road with the whole country... After the Western Xia was defeated in that battle, the Liao emperor knew that the Liang family had been doing all kinds of evil, so he sent someone to poison Liang after the war. Since then, Li Ganshun has gotten rid of the Liang family and successfully ruled the country."

Hearing these words, Zhao Jiu remained calm... What else do you want? This kind of mess with in-laws is a traditional art in East Asia.

"Several years later, Li Ganshun married a Liao princess again and used Liao as a supporter. He was in an uncertain relationship with the Song Dynasty..."

"Who won?" Zhao Jiu suddenly interrupted curiously.

Zhai Ruwen hesitated for a moment, but answered seriously: "During the reign of Emperor Zhezong, the Song Dynasty won more battles than they lost. During the reign of Emperor Taishang Daojun, the Song Dynasty lost more than they won... The most famous battle was twelve years ago, when Tong Guan led Liu Fa (father of Liu Zhengyan), the governor of Xihe Road, as his general and fought all the way to the city of Lingzhou. Unexpectedly, the Xixia people won the battle behind the city, and Liu Fa's army was wiped out."

Zhao Jiu's expression remained unchanged, and it was obvious that he didn't feel surprised at all.

"However, Li Ganshun took advantage of the situation to counterattack. After a great victory, he asked for surrender in the name of Liao... The Song Dynasty was almost forced to agree."

Zhao Jiu was slightly moved.

"The officials should all know what happened later. When the Jin army marched south, Li Ganshun, as the son-in-law of the Liao, came to rescue them three times. In one battle, his 30,000-strong army was defeated in a single battle at Loushi. Western Xia then surrendered to the Jin army...The queen of Western Xia, that is, Princess Yelu Nanxian of the Liao, died of starvation upon hearing that her homeland had been destroyed. The crown prince of Western Xia, Li Ren'ai, who had always been filial, also died of grief and anger along with his mother." Having said this, Zhai Ruwen added a little. "Li Ganshun and his queen had always had a deep affection for each other, and he loved his eldest son even more. If it was about selfishness, he would naturally be at odds with the Jin people, but he had always been tolerant. After his wife and his wife died, he put the safety of the country first and became more docile to the Jin people... The year before last, Lou Shi attacked the Jinning Army and surrendered Zhe Keqiu, and he traveled freely in the territory of Western Xia. Not only that, he found out that the leader of the Western Route Army of the Jin Kingdom was Nianhan, and he was particularly flattering to Nianhan. It is said that he repeatedly bribed Nianhan with large sums of money, and Nianhan repeatedly denied the idea of ​​attacking Western Xia."

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