at night.

"Gee, gee!"

“Ga ga ga!”

The two naughty boys Zhang Xing and Zhang Buzhi were crawling around Zhang Fei in the **, and occasionally throwing themselves on Zhang Fei, they were having a lot of fun.

Zhang Fei was also having a great time playing with them, but Xu Zhiqian beside him was worried, "Zhang San, did you find out anything?"

"Um?"

Zhang Fei seemed to be unable to react for a moment and asked, "What?"

Xu Zhiqian said unhappily, "It's about the Liao envoy."

"oh!"

"oh?"

...

...

Xu Zhiqian looked at Zhang Fei in confusion.

She didn't know why Zhang Fei didn't seem to take such an important matter to heart.

Zhang Fei explained with a smile: "Actually, this is all expected. If you want to become richer and stronger, people won't attack you. Will they wait for you to become stronger before attacking them? This is the normal relationship between countries. This is a critical period for the reform of our dynasty. There will definitely be people who will cause trouble. This is not a surprise."

After Wang Shao successfully expanded the border, Zhang Fei told Zhao Xu more than once that the Liao Kingdom would not sit idly by and watch everything happen, and they would definitely do something.

This was all within his expectations.

That's how it is.

It is also inevitable.

Xu Zhiqian said: "That being said, we need to find a way to solve this problem. How do you think we should deal with it?"

Zhang Fei sighed and said, "For now, we must try our best to avoid fighting on two fronts, but this really requires wisdom to solve. I am just a prosecutor, and this is not something I am good at. I can only see how the higher-ups operate, and they are better at it than me."

The Song Dynasty was most familiar with this kind of diplomacy, and Han Qi and Fu Bi were both first-class diplomats.

Xu Zhiqian's eyes turned and she asked, "Can this be resolved through a lawsuit?"

Zhang Fei laughed and said, "If the Liao Kingdom agrees to settle this through a lawsuit, I can bankrupt them. Believe it or not, they are not people who would reason with you."

After hearing this, Xu Zhiqian was immediately furious and said, "But they really go too far."

Zhang Fei smiled and said, "Don't be too fussy about it. Everything has two sides. This may not be a bad thing."

Xu Zhiqian was surprised and asked, "Isn't this a bad thing?"

"Of course not."

Zhang Fei said: "There is motivation only when there is pressure. If our Song Dynasty was not surrounded by powerful enemies, would there be any need for reform and strengthening? Would there be any need for public security, procuratorial and judicial organs? I am afraid that it has been rotten to the core. This is an era worth looking forward to, and we should enjoy it."

These words were not meant to comfort his wife, but he really believed it. Without these pressures, Zhao Xu would never have accepted the public security, procuratorial and judicial systems.

This is actually the driving force that spurred Zhao Xu to carry out reforms.

Throughout history, both in China and abroad, if there is no external pressure, the motivation for internal reform will certainly be insufficient.

It was precisely because of this that Zhang Fei dared to take this step. Otherwise, he would never meddle with the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs.

Because there is no possibility of success.

It was precisely because he was surrounded by powerful enemies that Zhao Xu was so determined and willing to compromise.

Xu Zhiqian thought about it and was about to say something, but Zhang Fei suddenly made a gesture to silence her and glanced at his chest again. Xu Zhiqian looked down and saw that the two boys had fallen asleep on Zhang Fei's chest.

Zhang Fei said in a very low voice: "Now you know how boring our conversation just now was."

Xu Zhiqian glared at him, then gently took the quilt to cover the two little ones.

Of course, at present, only Zhang Fei is so open-minded and broad-minded. In fact, most ministers are more like Xu Zhiqian, who is very worried.

Especially when they first learned that the Liao Kingdom had sent a special envoy, everyone in the court and the country was very nervous. If it wasn't a big deal, they wouldn't have sent a special envoy.

Everyone thought that the Liao Kingdom must have come to claim the Ten Counties of Guannan again, but they didn't know that the other party came this time not for the Ten Counties of Guannan.

It was mainly aimed at two things. The first was the border invasion problem in Hedong area, Dai, Ying and other places. The second was the construction of fortifications in Xiongzhou Zhantuoguan City. The Liao side believed that doing so was a violation of the Chanyuan Alliance.

Zhao Xu and the others all breathed a sigh of relief.

There is a big difference between the two.

Asking for the ten counties south of the Guanzhong Pass was an act of ceding land, because the Treaty of Chanyuan had already stipulated that these ten counties would belong to the Song Dynasty. Otherwise, the Song Dynasty would have no reason to pay annual tribute. Now they want them back, which is pure bullying. You have to know that the people of the Song Dynasty were actually very sensitive about ceding land, and there was not much market for it.

At the beginning, Emperor Zhenzong of Song and Emperor Renzong of Song would rather pay money than cede land.

However, invading the border is a controversial issue, which did not put that much pressure on the Song court. But it was not a small matter either. It just meant that the pressure from public opinion was not that great.

Because border invasions have happened before, but they have always been resolved by local governments and have never been escalated to the central level. But this time the Liao Kingdom sent a special envoy, so there must be a problem.

Zhao Xu is not stupid either, this matter must be handled with caution.

The first people he met were Han Qi and Zeng Gongliang, two retired prime ministers.

Especially Han Qi, because he had been dealing with border issues with the Liao Kingdom and had achieved outstanding results.

Afterwards, Zhao Xu summoned prime ministers including Fu Bi, Wang Anshi, Wen Yanbo, Sima Guang, and Lu Gongzhuo.

Their suggestions are roughly the same.

They all advised the emperor to actively negotiate with the Liao Kingdom and work hard to maintain friendly relations with it.

Because they all know that at this moment, they are actually very passive. The country is undergoing reforms, and the expansion of the Xihe River has brought tremendous pressure to the finances.

We must not break up with the Liao Kingdom at this time.

But on the border issue, they believe that they must not give in an inch and must use reason and evidence.

Although roughly the same, their statements are subtly different.

Han Qi believed that Wang Anshi should bear full responsibility for the current situation.

According to his observations when he was serving as the Pacifier of Hebei Province, the people of both countries had not seen war for decades and were actually very tired of war. Based on this, Han Qi believed that the Liao Kingdom had no intention of going to war with the Song Dynasty because there was no popular support for it.

The reason for doing this is that Wang Anshi has been showing off his power in recent years, and he wants everyone in the world to know that my reform is to deal with you.

The key is, if the leader likes something, the subordinates will like it even more.

Since Wang Anshi became prime minister, he stationed some generals who supported his reforms on the border. These generals were all radicals, which led to the surrounding forces actively guarding against the Song Dynasty.

Han Qi believed that doing so would be a very serious mistake. He thought that they should train troops in secret, strengthen defenses, and actively improve relations with neighboring countries, even with Western Xia, before they were fully prepared.

He also cited the example of Emperor Wu of Han. It was only after two generations of development under Emperor Wen and Emperor Jing that Emperor Wu of Han began to break off relations with the Huns. Wang Anshi's reforms had only been going on for a few years and had not yielded much results, but he shouted louder than anyone else.

Emperor Taizong of Tang endured for three or four years, so you should at least endure for ten years.

His suggestion was to abolish some of Wang Anshi's military policies in order to dispel the Liao Kingdom's doubts, and the matter would be settled because he believed that the Liao Kingdom would not easily go to war with the Song Dynasty.

Although Han Qi certainly had his own selfish motives, as he disagreed with some of Wang Anshi's policies, what he said was true, albeit a little exaggerated.

Because the purpose of Wang Anshi's reform was to fight a war, which was also the consensus between him and Zhao Xu. It was precisely because of this that Zhao Xu was willing to support Wang Anshi. Other ministers were not as fierce as Wang Anshi, so Wang Anshi would definitely shout this slogan and be tough on the outside world.

Otherwise, he would have no reason to reform. In fact, he was the same as Zhang Fei, both of whom were using external pressure to seek internal reforms.

However, Fu Bi and Sima Guang both opposed this approach. Fu Bi's advice to Zhao Xu was not to use military force for twenty years.

The underlying meaning is that the country’s people’s livelihood is in decline now, and it will take at least 20 years of development before it can have the strength to fight a foreign war.

Therefore, Fu Bi and Sima Guang also more or less put the blame on Wang Anshi, but they did not say it as bluntly as Han Qi, because during this period, it was Wang Anshi who was in power. If Wang Anshi had not been so radical, the Song Dynasty would not have fallen into this predicament.

Wang Anshi was certainly not stupid. He was also very clear that the Song Dynasty was unable to go to war with the Liao Kingdom. The key point was that if a war broke out with the Liao Kingdom, what would happen to the Western Xia? His focus was on the Western Xia, and his plan was to destroy the Western Xia first.

Therefore, he also suggested actively negotiating with the Liao Kingdom and making some compromises, such as dismantling the defensive fortifications of Xiongzhou, but not going too far.

At the same time, he believed that preparations for the elimination of Western Xia should be accelerated, otherwise, they would always be restrained by these two forces.

Among them, only Wen Yanbo and Zeng Gongliang were relatively strong. They believed that they should be prepared for war and take active defense, and could not hope that the Liao Kingdom would not attack them.

But they all believed that the Liao Kingdom’s current national strength was not enough to defeat the Song Dynasty, and if a war broke out, they would suffer heavy losses.

The struggle between the reformists and conservatives can still be seen here.

During this period, Zhang Fei was not worried about this matter, but was discussing the agricultural tax issue with the imperial court and the three departments.

The Royal Court has called a halt to the Tax Commissioner's appointment, arguing that if agricultural taxes remain unchanged, it would violate the new tax law.

The three companies are also willing to compromise, but the question is how much.

The problem here is actually very complicated, because the barren land may not produce any harvest, but the fertile land may only be 30% to 40% less than in previous years.

most

Finally, Zhang Fei came up with an idea to conduct a sample survey and randomly check some land in different places to see how much damage this disaster had caused to the farmland.

This number is then used as the output per acre of land this year, but the tax rate remains unchanged. Someone may have had to pay 20% tax before, but with this calculation, they may only have to pay 10%, and those who paid 5% before may be exempt from tax.

Of course the people were delighted.

However, Zhao Xu was in no mood to worry about this matter. He summoned Zhang Fei into the palace today not to discuss this matter, but to discuss the issue of the Liao envoy.

Before making a decision, Zhao Xu must have discussed it with Zhang Fei, because the current layout has deviated slightly from Wang Anshi's track, and Zhang Fei is fully involved in it.

"I have already learned the specific details of this matter from Li Bao, but foreign affairs are not my forte. I wonder what Wang Xueshi and the others have to say?"

Zhang Fei asked humbly.

They really don't understand the interests involved.

Zhao Xu also informed Zhang Fei of the prime ministers' suggestions.

After listening to this, Zhang Fei thought for a while before saying, "In fact, I agree more with Han Xianggong's opinion. What we lack now is time. During this period, we should actively improve our relations with neighboring forces and reduce wars. After the reform is completely completed, we can start to use foreign troops."

Zhao Xu said: "But the tree wants to be still but the wind does not stop! Although the Liao Kingdom did not attack the ten counties south of the Guan Pass this time, but turned to the border of Hedong, they definitely want to demand more territory.

They will definitely make things difficult for us during this negotiation. I'm afraid it won't be easy to solve this problem!"

Zhang Fei asked: "Is there any dispute over the Hedong border?"

Zhao Xu said: "When the border was drawn, it was generally clear, but it was not possible to mark every blade of grass or tree clearly.

Especially that area, which has long been a forbidden area in our dynasty. It was not until the Qingli period that people began to migrate in to cultivate. However, before that, many Liao people had already crossed the border into our territory to cultivate, which resulted in those areas being mostly populated by Liao people.

Now they are turning the tables, thinking that our people have crossed the border and occupied the land of the Liao people, and they are using this as an excuse to demand a new border to avoid disputes."

Zhang Fei thought for a while, nodded and said: "Since the Liao Kingdom has this request, we should also actively respond. Only in this way can we ease the relationship with the Liao Kingdom, and draw a clear border with them to avoid future disputes."

Zhao Xu asked, "So how do you plan to draw it?"

Zhang Fei said: "Draw slowly and carefully, and make sure every blade of grass and every tree is clearly marked to avoid any further disputes."

Zhao Xu looked at Zhang Fei in confusion.

Zhang Fei explained: "Your Majesty, if you want to draw such a long border line clearly, I don't think it will be done without three or four years, and these three or four years are crucial to our dynasty."

Zhao Xu said: "So, you are just stalling for time."

Zhang Fei nodded, "According to Li Bao's information, the Liao Kingdom is likely to take action. Although if they do so, both sides will surely suffer losses, the problem is that time is very favorable to us, so we should try our best to avoid it.

Moreover, Han Xianggong's suggestion is also worth referring to, that is, the people on both sides are very tired of war, and a war without a popular support cannot be won.

Then, Your Majesty, have you ever thought about how we will go to war against the Liao Kingdom in the future?"

Zhao Xu was stunned. How could he think so far ahead now?

Zhang Fei said: "Right now, this matter is in the hands of the Liao Kingdom, but in the future we can also operate this matter to gain public support. It is the Liao Kingdom that is bullying people too much, not us who want to break the peace."

These words inexplicably gave Zhao Xu confidence, "Are you sure that after three or four years of reform, we can fight against the Liao Kingdom?"

Zhang Fei nodded and said, "Absolutely. If your majesty doesn't believe it, you can look at the development of the northwest and the development of Jingdong East Road. If we continue with this trend, we will become very powerful in three years."

He wanted to keep Zhao Xu hanging and firmly promote the public security, procuratorial and judicial systems.

Of course, what he said was true, and Zhao Xu knew it. In the past, when there were wars on the western front, the people in the northwest would inevitably suffer. And this time, the expansion of the Xihe border would require three to four million strings of cash every year. Although it brought great difficulties to the northwest, it did not affect the development of the northwest.

Moreover, despite the drought, business is so prosperous, which is unprecedented!

Zhao Xu thought for a while and then asked, "Who do you think should be sent to negotiate with the Liao Kingdom?"

Zhang Fei was stunned for a moment and said, "I don't know about that."

But after he finished speaking, he saw a hint of hostility in Zhao Xu's eyes, "Your Majesty, you...you are not planning to send me, are you?"

Zhao Xu immediately said, "Would you be willing to go there for me?"

"Of course not."

"Um?"

"No."

Zhang Fei immediately explained: "Your Majesty, what I mean is that I am not good at foreign affairs and I don't have any experience."

Zhao Xu said: "But there are many ministers in the court who recommended you."

Damn it? It's really the party struggle that harms the country! You bastards, you actually joked about national affairs, you deserve to die. Zhang Fei said: "Your Majesty, those people have bad intentions!"

"I know."

Zhao Xu nodded.

Zhang Fei was stunned and asked, "Since Your Majesty knew, why did you send me?"

Zhao Xu said: "I intend to send you for three reasons. First, although you have no experience in foreign affairs, border demarcation also requires evidence and legal demarcation, and you also need to debate with the other party. Isn't this your strong point?

Secondly, this delaying tactic was proposed by you, and no matter who I send, I cannot tell him clearly, no matter who else I send, there is a high possibility that problems will arise during this period, and it will not meet our expectations.

Third, whether it is Prime Minister Han or Scholar Wang, although their suggestions are similar, they all have their own selfish motives in this matter. They will try to intervene and guide things in a direction that is beneficial to them, but this is not our plan.

So, you are the perfect choice.”

Today I have fewer words because I was halfway through writing when something came up and I had to go out in a hurry. Please understand.