Chapter 767 "Loyalty"

This high-level meeting was actually planned in advance by Zhao Xu and Zhang Fei, with the aim of slightly modifying the strategic guidelines originally set by Wang Anshi.

Wang Anshi's strategic approach was actually to use foreign affairs to promote domestic reforms.

It is precisely because we have been bullied for many years that we should work hard to make our country rich and strong.

If we think in reverse, the purpose of enriching the country and strengthening the military is to expand the territory, so Wang Anshi must actively prepare for the war against Western Xia.

If we don't take this step, everyone will be confused. Why are we doing this work?

Of course, this refers only to Western Xia, not including the Liao Kingdom.

Since Emperor Taizong's defeat, the Song Dynasty, from top to bottom, has had only one strategy toward the Liao Kingdom, and that is a peace strategy.

Try to be friendly.

Han Qi's advice to Zhao Xu was to try his best to maintain friendship between the two countries and then strengthen defenses.

...

...

The implication is that maintaining friendship is in our interest, but we also have to prevent the other side from attacking you.

Throughout the whole incident, the person with the toughest attitude was Wen Yanbo, but what he meant was that you cannot expect the Liao Kingdom not to attack you. Only when you have enough strength will it not attack you.

Therefore, he believed that the fortifications should not be dismantled but strengthened. However, his underlying intention was not to break off relations with the Liao Kingdom, but to stop the war with strength.

In fact, he and Han Qi have the same philosophy, but Han Qi's attitude is more gentle, while his is tougher.

In history, the strategies of Zhao Xu and Wang Anshi were actually highly similar. Even after Wang Anshi left the court, Zhao Xu continued to follow Wang Anshi's strategy, but he still lost in the end.

However, due to the emergence of Zhang Fei and the success of the public security, procuratorial and judicial departments, Zhao Xu was more inclined to Zhang Fei's strategic approach.

That is to deal with domestic affairs and foreign affairs separately and no longer combine them together.

Although the purpose of majoring in internal affairs is still to expand territory, the two are no longer causally related. Expanding territory is just one of the purposes of reform. There is no need to use the success of expanding territory to give legitimacy to reform.

The purpose of this meeting was for Zhao Xu to use Zhang Fei to announce a strategy focusing on domestic affairs.

However, the emperor and his minister only communicated through letters. Zhao Xu did not meet with Zhang Fei alone in advance and then hold this meeting, which was what he should have done.

It was just because of some public opinions that were unfavorable to Zhang Fei that Zhao Xu convened this meeting as soon as possible in order to win the support of the people.

Because there were many previous examples where the foreign minister and the emperor had private dealings, if Zhao Xu met Zhang Fei alone first, it would arouse many people's suspicion.

However, the emperor and his minister must meet alone to discuss the diplomatic process.

On the second day, Zhao Xu sent someone to secretly summon Zhang Fei into the palace.

Li Bao was already waiting in the carriage.

"What's the situation outside now?"

After getting on the carriage, Zhang Fei asked Li Bao.

“It’s very bad.”

Li Bao shook his head and said truthfully: "Last time, Sanlang really offended everyone with the warehouse tax, so this time they are just adding insult to injury, constantly creating public opinion among the people, criticizing you, Sanlang, for being weak and incompetent and selling out your country for personal gain.

The news that you, Sanlang, are in a brothel in Taiyuan has been confirmed. Coupled with the cowardly behavior of some officials who were previously on diplomatic missions, the people have believed their accusations.

We need to find a way to solve this problem quickly, otherwise it will definitely affect Saburo's career."

Zhang Fei nodded and said, "I already have a plan to deal with it."

Li Bao asked hurriedly: "How does Sanlang plan to deal with it?"

Zhang Fei said: "You keep a close eye on one person."

"who?"

"Cao Dongdong."

"ah?"

Li Bao looked at Zhang Fei with confusion.

Zhang Fei said: "At that time, Cao Dongdong was going to send troops to fight. I tricked Cao Dongdong to go to Taiyuan. When that guy came back and found out that everyone was criticizing me, he immediately separated from me. He values ​​the reputation of the Cao family very much, so he will definitely spread it widely and put all the blame on me."

Li Bao was even more confused after hearing this. If Cao Dongdong did this, then what others said was true!

This is even more disadvantageous to you!

"I I don't quite understand." Li Bao shook his head in confusion.

Zhang Fei smiled and said, "In fact, most of the officials in the court, including the scholars and officials in the streets, advocated friendship with Liao. So when these people learned that Yanei was going to send troops to fight, but was tricked by me to go to Taiyuan, what would they think?"

Li Bao asked, "What would you think?"

Zhang Fei said unhappily: "They will think that I am considering the overall situation and avoiding direct conflict with the Liao Kingdom, so I chose to take Cao Dongdong away."

Li Bao said: "They attacked you purely out of personal grudges."

The implication is that they don’t look at the bigger picture.

"I know."

Zhang Fei nodded and said, "But in order to prove his innocence, Yanei must have advocated a tough stance against Liao during his propaganda. This is a sensitive moment and the people are also angry. If he really arouses the people's resentment towards Liao, it will scare those people.

At this time, our people only needed to give a slight hint, saying that I was just worried that Yanei would act on impulse, so I took them away.

One of the most important evidences is that I have never been to a brothel in the capital, while Yanei is a frequent visitor to brothels.

Therefore, under the control of worry and fear of the Liao people, they will change their tone and praise my visit. "

Li Bao was sweating profusely when he heard this and asked in a low voice: "Sanlang, isn't Yanei your best brother?"

"yes!"

Zhang Fei said: "Now, he is willing to risk his life for his brothers. Of course, I am the same, and this operation will not affect him. On the contrary, it can prove that they are not afraid of the Liao people and are brave enough to fight against them. They are worthy of being descendants of the Cao family. At the same time, it can also change my situation. It can be said to kill two birds with one stone."

So this is the definition of brotherhood. If he calls me Brother Leopard in the future, I must stop him. I would rather he call me Little Leopard. Li Bao asked again, "Why didn't Sanlang use newspapers to fight back this time?"

Zhang Fei smiled bitterly and said, "If I could use newspapers, I would have already been promoting it before I came back. Many things are not said explicitly, but can only be understood intuitively."

To put it bluntly, no matter how you say it, it's cowardly.

Li Bao nodded, "I know what to do."

Zhang Fei asked again: "What's the situation at the Taxation Department now?"

Li Bao said hurriedly: "The situation in the capital is much better than expected. Although the land tax was eventually reduced to 30%, it has not decreased compared to before the tax law reform. On the contrary, it is a little higher. It is just a little lower than last year. The reason is that the commercial tax has increased a lot."

At this point, he added, "At that time, the three departments and those big landlords had a very fierce dispute, because according to the results of the investigation, the harvest of the fields this year was probably a little more than 30% of the usual harvest, but the three departments hoped to reduce it to 50%, but the big landlords insisted on 30% and refused to give in. Finally, the chief judge said that anything more than 30% would be a violation of the tax law. The three departments had no choice but to announce the calculation based on 30%."

Zhang Fei complained: "Aren't those big landlords grateful to me for this? We, the public security, procuratorate and courts, have made the decision for them!"

Li Bao said: "They didn't pay much tax before."

"That's true."

Zhang Fei nodded awkwardly and asked, "What about the tax currency?"

Li Bao immediately said: "As for our capital area, we have collected about 70% so far."

"Seventy percent?"

Zhang Fei frowned and said, "This is less than I expected. I expected it to be about 80%."

Li Bao said: "We have already investigated this clearly. It is mainly because some salt merchants from Hezhong Prefecture have hoarded some tax coins."

Zhang Fei nodded and said, "These salt merchants missed a wave of opportunities in Hezhong Prefecture, so they want to find them back here, but this time they must have made a profit, these profiteers."

Li Bao asked, "Why is Sanlang so sure?"

Zhang Fei said: "Think about it, the increase in commercial taxes indicates an increase in the production of goods, and the use of currency will also increase. If there is no famine next year, there will definitely be a shortage of currency, and then the currency will become more valuable."

Li Bao nodded slightly.

Zhang Fei asked again: "What's the situation in Huainan and Hebei?"

Li Bao smiled and said, "If there are no accidents in these two places, the tax revenue will increase a lot, because the tax department found that there were too many people who evaded and avoided taxes in the past. Except for some counties in Hebei, many counties may even double the tax revenue compared with previous years, even if the tax revenue in various places is reduced by 30% to 50%."

Zhang Fei nodded and said, "Does the official know?"

Li Bao said: "We have already informed the emperor, and he is very happy."

Zhang Fei smiled and nodded.

If he wanted to convince Zhao Xu to accept his strategic approach, he must first let Zhao Xu see the results.

As they were chatting, the carriage quietly arrived at the small gate in the northeast corner of the imperial city. Zhang Fei got off the carriage and was led into the imperial city by a eunuch.

Due to the cold weather, Zhao Xu naturally would not have a "date" with Zhang Fei in the attic, but chose to have it in the study.

When Zhao Xu saw Zhang Fei, he joked, "Zhang San, you really scared everyone this time!"

At that time, the news of the war came directly, which shocked the whole court.

I was scared.

Zhang Fei hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, it was the Liao people who frightened us. I just arrived there, and they directly led their troops to invade our border and rampaged through our territory."

Zhao Xu frowned and snorted, "This is their usual trick. Every time they negotiate with our dynasty, they rely on their strong military force to show off their power on the border."

Then he asked Zhang Fei, "What was the attitude of those northerners during the negotiations?"

Zhang Fei replied: "Very arrogant, and their goal is not the farmland currently occupied by the Liao people, they seem to want to get more, and they are hinting that if we cannot satisfy them, they will take military action to occupy it. The tone is very firm, as if it is inevitable.

Perhaps they think that since we have expanded the border of Xihe River for several miles, they should take most of it.”

"They are really going too far."

After hearing this, Zhao Xu slammed the table hard.

We spend so much money in Xihe every year, and many people die there, but you want to take away most of it with just a few words. This is really bullying.

Zhang Fei said: “But so far, we have no strength to contend with the Liao army at the edge of those restricted areas. Their army can invade at will and burn down some of our fortifications.

Moreover, they also demanded that we maintain the status quo until the dispute is completely resolved, that is, no more fortifications can be built, otherwise they will send troops to destroy them. Of course, they also promised that they would not send troops to invade the border during this period. "

Zhao Xu was furious when he heard this, but unlike when he faced Western Xia, he could only be angry and did not dare to really break off relations with the Liao Kingdom.

The reason is simple, I really can’t beat him.

During the reign of Emperor Huizong, the Song Army and the Jin Army attacked the Liao Kingdom, which was on the verge of death, from both sides. The Song Army was still defeated. In the end, it was the Jin Army that helped the Song Army to recapture most of the prefectures and counties in Yanyun.

Moreover, the Liao Kingdom is much stronger now than it was back then, because the Liao Kingdom is no longer a tribe like the Huns and Turks. It is now a national civilization and it can mobilize a lot of manpower and resources.

Zhao Xu asked Zhang Fei again: "Then how do you think we should deal with it?"

“Not an inch of land will be given.”

Zhang Fei said: "Although it is an indisputable fact that they have occupied some of our territory, and in those areas, the Liao people are more than five times our Han people. But whether we admit it or not will make a fundamental difference. As long as we don't admit it, there will always be disputes here. When our national strength becomes stronger, we can deal with it more forcefully.

Moreover, we can no longer limit our focus to Western Xia, but should consider the overall situation. In other words, our next step is not necessarily to attack Western Xia, but it may be to go to war with the Liao Kingdom first.

These options should all be within our consideration. Our previous strategy was too narrow, so that the Liao Kingdom knew that we were about to attack Xixia, so they dared to take advantage of the situation without scruples.

We must change this mindset. Why do we pay them so much tribute every year? Why can't we fight the Liao Kingdom? Compared to Xixia, the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun are more important to us."

This is not something he learned from history books, but what he felt after coming here. Before the Liao Kingdom provoked him, he did not feel any threat from the Liao Kingdom at all, as if Western Xia was the only enemy.

But it is obvious that the Liao Kingdom posed a greater threat to the Song Dynasty.

The reason why we can't feel it is that the Liao Kingdom was not included in the overall strategy of the Song Dynasty. This gives people a strange feeling that the strategy is too narrow.

Zhao Xu was both happy and worried when he heard this, and asked with a little lack of confidence: "Do you think we can do it?"

Of course, he also wanted to recover the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, but so far, he had not thought about it, because he believed that this should be considered when eliminating Western Xia.

But Zhang Fei believes that these are all options before us and there is no order of priority.

This is also true.

Every time the Song Dynasty sent troops to Western Xia, the Liao Kingdom would inevitably get involved, causing the Song Dynasty to lose both the wife and the troops. Why didn't the Song Dynasty attack the Liao Kingdom first?

Zhang Fei nodded and said firmly: "It will definitely work, but we still need some time to complete the reform of the public security, procuratorial and judicial systems so that the country can operate according to the law. Then, Your Majesty can focus all your energy on dealing with foreign enemies.

Now the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs have played their roles in various places, such as Xihe's expansion to the border. If the Northwest had not completed judicial reform first, our pressure would definitely not be limited to this. "

Zhao Xu nodded slightly. He was deeply touched by this and felt more confident. He said, "How long do you think we can delay this?"

Zhang Fei said: "It should be possible to delay for two or three years, but this is enough for us. However, during this period, the Liao Kingdom will definitely continue to make trouble, constantly create pressure, create fear, intimidate our officials, and make us dare not to be enemies with them.

Therefore, Your Majesty needs to form a special team to deal with the provocations of the Liao Kingdom so that you can focus on domestic reforms. "

Zhao Xu frowned and said, "But we can never avoid fighting on two fronts."

Zhang Fei hesitated for a moment and said, "From the current situation, this is the case. If you want to avoid it, you need the right time, right place and right people, but I think it is possible.

Because according to our observation, the Liao Kingdom is also in turmoil, and the Liao Kingdom's ruler and powerful ministers are all quite old, which is our advantage. We can send out more spies to find out their internal situation. As long as our internal development is stable, we will definitely be able to wait for a perfect opportunity."

Zhao Xu shook his head and said, "Every family has its own problems. Our problems are not limited to the Northern Dynasty and Western Xia, but also Jiaozhi in the south!"

Zhang Fei was stunned. "Jiao Jiao Zhi?"

Zhao Xu nodded and said, "In recent years, the Jiaozhi Li family has been expanding outward, and recently they have seized a lot of land from Champa. They have always coveted our Qinzhou territory, especially when they learned that we were expanding our border in Xihe, they became even more rampant."

Zhang Fei was stunned for a while, and couldn't help but sigh: "If your majesty can succeed, his civil and military achievements will surely surpass those of Emperor Wu of Han and Emperor Taizong of Tang!"

This is so difficult!

There is also a Jiaozhi in the south.

Zhao Xu was slightly embarrassed when he heard this, and said, "You mean, I can't succeed?"

Zhang Fei said hurriedly: "Of course not, it's not like Han Wu and Tang Zong are unsurpassable."

Then he asked again: "I wonder how Mr. Wang and the others plan to deal with it?"

Zhao Xu said: "In fact, when Jiaozhi attacked Champa, the court had been paying attention to their actions. As early as the beginning of last year, Mr. Li thought that he should teach Li a lesson, so he recommended two officials who advocated a tough stance against Jiaozhi to govern Qinzhou, and asked them to go there to train troops, and at the same time cut off trade with Jiaozhi and hit Jiaozhi's finances.

But at that time you suggested that I should focus on domestic affairs, so I have been hesitant. Unexpectedly, we encountered a disaster this year and the matter was delayed.

Now I have decided to temporarily stop the encirclement and suppression of Xixia, so you should take this opportunity to eliminate Jiaozhi first. "

Oh, right! I remember that during the Xining period, the Song Dynasty fought a war with Jiaozhi. Although they won, it consumed a lot of national strength and laid the groundwork for the future defeat of the Western Xia. It should have been only one or two years. So, is it too late to train troops now?

Zhang Fei suddenly thought of this and couldn't help feeling a little nervous.

But what he didn't know was that he had actually flapped the butterfly's wings.

If we follow the historical process, the Qingmiao Law would have been fully implemented in all counties in Lingnan, which also caused some local public resentment. This gave Jiaozhi an opportunity because Jiaozhi had always wanted to expand into the territory of the Song Dynasty.

Wang Anshi also saw through Jiaozhi's motives. At the same time, he also needed military achievements to support his reforms. So he replaced officials in the south and sent a group of tough men there to prepare for war. He also cut off trade with Jiaozhi, trying to strike at their economy first and then send troops to Jiaozhi. Finally, under these many factors, Jiaozhi decided to take the initiative.

But now neither of these two things has happened. The Qingmiao Law has currently only been implemented in the Jiangnan and Huguang regions. And because of the unrest in the Jingdong East Road, everyone has restrained themselves and officials no longer dare to enforce the apportionment wantonly.

The replacement of officials and severance of trade did not happen because Zhao Xu was more inclined to Zhang Fei's strategy at the time, which was to focus on domestic affairs and endure for another two years.

However, it is an indisputable fact that Jiaozhi continued to invade the territory of the Song Dynasty.

Therefore, Wang Anshi mentioned the matter to Zhao Xu again. Anyway, the northern and western fronts were planning to switch to the defensive stage, so it would be better to pull out the nail in the south first.

This does make sense.

If you want to go out to fight, you have to clean up your own backyard.

But Zhang Fei didn't know that he had already flapped his butterfly wings. He only knew that this happened and it happened before the war with Western Xia. He didn't remember the exact time, and he was not very clear about why it happened.

Zhang Fei felt that it was urgent. He could not train the troops and should send them directly. He thought for a while and said, "Your Majesty, I think we should send the troops directly."

Zhao Xu was surprised and asked, "Send troops directly?"

Zhang Fei nodded.

Zhao Xu asked, "Do you know how much military expenditure it would cost if we directly sent troops there to station there?"

"Of course I know that."

Zhang Fei nodded and said, "But as far as I know, in many places over there, it is some cave owners or village owners who maintain the local law and order."

Zhao Xu nodded, "But what does this have to do with sending troops there?"

Zhang Fei said: "It is precisely because the local system is different from that of the Central Plains that it is very difficult to implement public security and justice there. I suggest sending troops directly there. First, to prevent Jiaozhi's invasion, and second, to use the army to control the local area, and then implement public security and justice there. At that time, the soldiers can be converted to royal police on the spot."

Zhao Xu was surprised and asked, "Do you want to promote public security, procuratorial and judicial systems there?"

Zhang Fei nodded and said, "At present, the imperial court still lacks control over that place, but the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs can help Your Majesty better control the prefectures and counties there. Moreover, I don't think now is the best time to send troops to Jiaozhi. We should adopt a combination of kindness and severity, on the one hand to increase the local defense, and on the other hand to strengthen the trade between the two sides.

Because according to news from Xihe, other ethnic groups are able to integrate into the public security, procuratorial and judicial systems more quickly, and compared to their chieftain system, the people are more willing to live under the public security, procuratorial and judicial systems.

Therefore, we can follow the success of Xihe and implement the public security, procuratorial and judicial systems on the southern border to win over the hearts of the local people and gradually weaken Jiaozhi.

We can use the system to attack and use soldiers to defend, but the premise is that we must have enough royal police. If we send royal police directly, it will arouse the vigilance of local chiefs. But if we send troops to defend Jiaozhi, it is reasonable. "

It is almost impossible to implement the public security, procuratorial and judicial systems on the border without military control, because many areas on the border adopt a custody system, and the implementation of the public security, procuratorial and judicial systems will inevitably be met with armed resistance.

Previously, Zhang Fei had envisioned pushing it forward step by step, but the Jiaozhi crisis and the success of Xihe suddenly made him think that he could implement it at the border first. As long as the army controlled it first, the army could be directly transformed into the royal police, and then officials could be sent over.

Now all the soldiers of the Imperial Guard want to join the police station, because the salaries and bonuses of the police station are delivered very promptly, and most importantly, the people prefer the Royal Police.

The status of soldiers is very low, not comparable to that of the Royal Police.

If they are transferred on the spot, many soldiers will be very willing to do so. However, if you ask them to stay there for a long time, they will definitely not be willing to do so.

"Institutional attack?"

Zhao Xu was slightly startled. This was the first time he had heard of this term.

Zhang Fei nodded and said, "Any citizen would be willing to live in a system that can defend their legitimate rights and interests, and would not be willing to live in a barbaric system that treats human life as worthless.

The Xihe area has proved this, but it also proves that those barbarians will definitely use force to create chaos.

War may be inevitable, but compared to attack, defense saves more manpower and material resources, and is less likely to cause too many accidents. "

He also couldn't tell Zhao Xu that there would be heavy losses then, and future attacks would also cause the Song army to suffer heavy losses, so they had to be prepared immediately.

He had to find a reason to explain it all.

Zhao Xu nodded and said, "I also received a letter from the Privy Councilor not long ago. The strategy formulated by Wang Shaoxin is similar to what you said. He also believes that as long as we stabilize the Xihe area now, more tribes will voluntarily surrender to us in the future. Moreover, he believes that the Royal Police is better prepared than the army for small-scale harassment by the enemy."

Zhang Fei said: "The Royal Police can be better prepared, but the Tax Commissioner is better able to take small-scale attacks."

Zhao Xu was surprised and asked, "The tax commissioner is attacking?"

Zhang Fei nodded and said, "When we were dealing with bandits in the east of Jingdong Road, the tax police contributed the most and fought the hardest. The reason is very simple. When a soldier conquered a place, he actually didn't get much reward, but it was different for the tax commissioner. The more land he conquered, the more income he would get from the area.

In the eyes of the Tax Commissioner, those cave masters and village masters are all fat pigs. They will find ways to deal with those cave masters and village masters without His Majesty's orders.

At that time, we can also use this trick to deal with the Liao people who invaded our territory, that is, to make them pay taxes."

Zhao Xu really didn't believe it: "Will this work?"

Zhang Fei smiled and said, "As long as our army can defend against the enemy's attack, I can guarantee that the Taxation Department will be able to expand a large tax area in the local area every year."