In fact, for Xixia and Liao, the most unfortunate thing was not their success or failure at this moment, but that they no longer had any possibility of winning.

All that awaits them is despair!

Because time is also on the side of the Song Dynasty.

Although there are still some places in the Song Dynasty where the public security, procuratorial and judicial systems have not been popularized, this is no longer important. For example, the implementation of the public security, procuratorial and judicial systems in Huguang and Shu this year has been extremely smooth. The public security, procuratorial and judicial systems have never fought such a successful battle. The local dignitaries and landlords simply opened their arms and welcomed the arrival of the public security, procuratorial and judicial systems, and paid taxes more actively than anyone else, which made the tax commissioner very depressed.

At this moment, anyone who tries to stop the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs would be like a mantis trying to stop a chariot, overestimating their own capabilities.

The tax currency also solved the money shortage crisis in the six southeastern routes and Shu, allowing the local industry and commerce to develop rapidly, especially in Fujian and Guangdong. Thanks to the opening of sea transportation and the stimulation of tax currency, many goods from there were able to be mobilized to the north.

The development of these regions also ensured that the court's tax revenue maintained a strong growth momentum.

Good domestic development and a full treasury also allowed the court to free up its hands to stir up trouble in the surrounding areas and expand its influence.

For example, the Song Dynasty actively established friendly trade relations with Champa through maritime trade, and supplied a large number of crossbows to Champa in order to contain the Ly Dynasty and create trouble for the Ly Dynasty's rear.

Secondly, they achieved a great victory at Peach Blossom Island. When the Liao Kingdom learned that the Song Dynasty had directly incorporated Peach Blossom Island into the territory of the Song Dynasty, they were furious. They also discovered that the Song Dynasty had continued to infiltrate through Peach Blossom Island and established good relations with Goryeo and Jurchen.

...

...

This made the Liao Kingdom uneasy and they had to remove this thorn, so they sent troops to attack, but ended up being completely wiped out.

Although Taohua Island is very close to the Liao Kingdom, fighting against the Song Dynasty’s naval division with its artillery at sea is like hitting a rock with an egg.

However, this victory also made Goryeo see the decline of the Liao Dynasty and the strength of the Song Dynasty. Under a series of operations by the Song Dynasty, Goryeo immediately jumped out of the tribute system with the Liao Dynasty and returned to the status of a vassal state of the Song Dynasty.

At the beginning, the Liao Kingdom relied entirely on force to force Goryeo to submit, and also occupied several important cities on the east bank of the Yalu River, which was equivalent to strangling Goryeo's throat. Goryeo also urgently wanted to break this predicament.

Not only that, the Song Dynasty also established relations with the Jurchens. It happened that they were also fighting among themselves at the time and were in urgent need of weapons, so the Song Dynasty used crossbows and armor to exchange for their horses.

This forced Yelu Hongji, who had just put down the civil strife, to focus on the rear, which made him feel a little overwhelmed, and what made the Liao Kingdom even more desperate.

The situation in Western Xia suddenly changed, and the speed was so fast that the Liao Kingdom could not react.

As Empress Dowager Liang's military expeditions were unsuccessful, a large amount of manpower and material resources were consumed, and a lot of fertile fields, salt ponds, and pastures were lost, causing the country of Western Xia to be extremely poor. Empress Dowager Liang still had to maintain the army to defend her throne, which could only lead to plundering the people, causing widespread resentment in Western Xia. In addition, the Song Dynasty infiltrated all directions and provided various assistance to the forces opposing Empress Dowager Liang.

Finally, after a series of bold moves by Empress Dowager Liang, Western Xia finally ushered in a serf uprising.

The Empress Dowager Liang came to the throne illegitimately, and there were people who opposed her from the very beginning. If she could lead Western Xia out of its predicament, it would be understandable, but under her leadership, the country became even more impoverished. In comparison, those merchants who surrendered to the Song Dynasty were all well-off, and ordinary people also lived and worked in peace and contentment.

This person goes to high places, and water flows to low places.

All the knowledgeable people in Western Xia rose up in rebellion.

And they rebelled from all directions, including Suzhou and Xiliang Prefecture in the rear.

Of course, the Song army also provided them with comprehensive support, including financial and weapons.

Before the Western Xia uprising, Wang Shao had reported the intelligence to the court in a timely manner. Zhao Xu was ecstatic, thinking that Western Xia was within his grasp. Wang Anshi, Wen Yanbo and others immediately drew up a strategic plan to attack the Liao Kingdom.

On the eve of the Western Xia serf uprising, the Song Dynasty suddenly deployed large numbers of troops to Xiongzhou and Bazhou, preparing to attack Youzhou.

The Liao Kingdom also received the intelligence and began to send reinforcements to Youzhou.

The two sides had several small-scale conflicts on both sides of the Baigou River, and it seemed that a major war was about to break out.

However, the Liao Kingdom never expected that this was just a bluff by the Song Dynasty.

Just when the Liao Kingdom was concentrating its attention on defending Youzhou, Western Xia suddenly rioted. Then part of the main force of the Western Army withdrew from Western Xia and joined forces with Taiyuan. The 150,000-strong army marched along Shuozhou and Yingzhou all the way to Yunzhou.

The Liao Kingdom never expected that a major uprising would suddenly break out in Western Xia, leading to the withdrawal of the main force of the Western Army from Western Xia.

The reason why Liao supported Queen Mother Liang before was so that Western Xia could contain the main force of the Western Army.

By the time the Liao Kingdom came to its senses, it was already too late.

Led by generals such as Zhong Yan and Zhe Jishi, the Western Army was unstoppable all the way.

Because the Western Army had been fighting in Western Xia for so many years, it not only obtained a large number of pastures and war horses, but also the soldiers had sufficient experience. The key is that they had fought defensive battles in the past two years, which did not consume much energy, had abundant military force, and had the support of artillery. In comparison, the soldiers of the Liao Kingdom near Hedong had not fought a major war for many years.

When the Liao Kingdom came to its senses, it discovered that the Song Dynasty was simply repeating the route of the Yongxi Northern Expedition, and Empress Dowager Xiao had already given a textbook solution. At first, no one in the Liao Kingdom panicked.

According to this route, the Song Dynasty must have first used the Hebei Army to attract the main force of the Liao Army in Youzhou, and then took advantage of the emptiness in the west to mobilize the Western Army to break through the defense line of Yunzhou, bypass Youzhou directly, and attack from both sides with the Hebei Army.

The target is definitely Youzhou.

However, after the Western Army captured Yunzhou, it immediately stopped the attack and stepped up the deployment of the defense line. The main force of Hebei also changed from an offensive formation to a defensive formation.

Hey! I'm just teasing you.

It turns out that the target of this strategic plan was not Youzhou at all, but Yunzhou, because there were not many war horses in the Hebei area, and it was good at defense but not good at offense.

But once Xixia and then Yunzhou were taken, the Liao Kingdom would be surrounded by the Song Dynasty.

Youzhou was facing attacks from both sides at any time.

In order to avoid repeating the failure of the Yongxi Northern Expedition, the Song Dynasty chose to nibble away at the Liao Kingdom step by step instead of thinking of taking it all in one go. Because time was always on the Song Dynasty's side, there was no need for the Song Dynasty to take the risk of attacking the Liao Kingdom.

This large-scale offensive was actually just to improve the tactical position against Liao, but the main focus was still on pacifying Western Xia first.

Hedong.

Rhubarb flat.

But I saw two or three thousand people standing excitedly in the parade ground.

I only heard someone shouting, "Chen Xu."

“Yes, yes, yes!”

Chen Xu waved the deed, ran forward, and handed the deed to the official in front of him.

The official looked at the deed for a long time, then made a mark on it with a pen, and handed a new land deed and house deed back to Chen Xu, "The debt between the court and you is written off."

"Thank you very much! Thank you very much!"

Chen Xu took the two contracts and thanked him repeatedly.

These people were the people who were driven out of the disputed territory by the Liao army. According to the decision of the chief judge at that time, the annual tribute to the Liao Kingdom was directly frozen and then compensated to them.

Although Zhao Xu had abolished the Treaty of Chanyuan, the money continued to be given.

Some ministers suggested granting them some government land, which would be enough for them to live off of. However, Zhao Xu did not do so. He wanted to motivate himself to take back the lost land.

Now the shame has finally been avenged.

You drove me away, and now I'm back.

Almost all the northern people who invaded here were captured. Because the Song army came too quickly, they didn't have time to escape. Now they are just watching from the sidelines, watching how their property returns to the hands of the Song people.

This must be humiliated back.

When the news of the great victory in Yunzhou reached the imperial court, it was different from the past. This time, the emperor, his ministers, and the people were all delighted. In the past, even if a victory was won, the court would still be worried.

But at this moment, both Fu Bi and Sima Guang were very confident that it was only a matter of time to recover Yanyun.

Because with the fall of Western Xia and the recovery of Yunzhou, the Liao Kingdom had already followed in the footsteps of Western Xia and had to fight a desperate battle.

They were already actively discussing how to destroy the Liao Kingdom.

Tokyo Bianliang.

In an inconspicuous little house.

“Remember this place?”

Zhao Xu asked Zhang Fei while looking around.

Zhang Fei smiled and said, "Of course I remember, my father-in-law rented this small house, and it was also the place where His Majesty and I first met. But it seems that this place has not changed at all."

Zhao Xu laughed and said, "I heard that the owner of this house was afraid of disrupting the Feng Shui of this place, so the layout has never been changed. Moreover, the rent of this house is more than twice as high as other houses. But it's a pity that another Zhang San has not appeared here."

Zhang Fei laughed secretly in his heart, then you have to go to 21st Century Recruitment.

"Sit down!"

"yes."

The king and his minister sat at the stone table in the courtyard again, just like they did when they first met.

“It seems like just yesterday!”

Zhao Xu sighed again: "Do you still remember what we talked about at that time?"

Zhang Fei thought for a while, "What worries us is not the scarcity but the inequality; what worries us is not the poverty but the insecurity?"

"What's your solution for me?"

"legal system."

"But this legal system is not that legal system!"

Zhao Xu laughed and said, "At that time, I thought you were talking about the Legalists, but I never thought that the legal system you were referring to was the law of the legal system."

Zhang Fei chuckled and said, "I only thought of this later. After all, in our Song Dynasty, Legalism is highly respected. Not many people support pure Legalism. It must be combined with Confucianism."

Zhao Xu laughed, but he did not doubt it. He asked again, "What did we talk about when we met for the second time?"

Zhang Fei was not sure: "To govern the country, we must first govern the officials?"

Zhao Xu nodded and said, "You said it would take at least ten years. To be honest, I didn't have the patience at the time. However, the fact is just as you said, it really took a full ten years! But looking back now, it was all worth it. This is also the most correct decision I have made in my life."

Zhang Fei smiled and said, "I still remember that I said at the time that our biggest advantage is our youth. Ten years have passed, and we are only in our early thirties now. We are in the prime of life and the timing is just right."

"Yes! Our biggest advantage is our youth."

Zhao Xu smiled and nodded, full of hope for the future, and asked again: "Third conversation?"

Zhang Fei thought for a moment and said, "If we count it as a conversation about state affairs, then in the third round, Your Majesty revealed his identity. And my advice to Your Majesty is to not use a hidden dragon."

"It is the hidden dragon that should not be used."

Zhao Xu nodded and said, "The next step is to see the dragon in the field, and then the flying dragon in the sky. Although I think that our Song Dynasty has not yet reached the realm of true flying dragon in the sky, I want to know now, what is your last move?"

Zhang Fei's expression changed slightly, and he said awkwardly: "It's still a long way to go before we can fly like a dragon in the sky."

Zhao Xu said: "But I want to know now."

Zhang Fei thought for a while and said, "This last move is actually not something that can be decided by humans. It is an inevitable law, which is also called the dragon that is too arrogant will regret."

"How?"

Zhao Xu asked.

Zhang Fei said: "The hidden dragon does not use its power implies accumulating strength in secret to avoid being strangled in the cradle by others, but hiding in the abyss is also difficult to achieve anything, so when the power is accumulated to a certain extent, it is like seeing a dragon in the field, floating to the surface, showing its edge and ambition, thus reaching the realm of a flying dragon in the sky.

But the sun will set when it is at its zenith, and the moon will wane when it is full. This is an eternal truth. Any powerful empire will inevitably decline. Therefore, the purpose of "Kang Long You Hui" is to ease this decline process."

Zhao Xu asked anxiously: "How can we use the "Kang Long You Hui" to ease this decline?"

Zhang Fei asked, "Your Majesty, do you know how Emperor Xuanzong of Tang went from the Kaiyuan Prosperity to the Anshi Rebellion?"

Zhao Xu said: "That's because Emperor Xuanzong of Tang later became proud and could not bear to hear honest advice, and only cared about enjoying himself."

Zhang Fei smiled and said, "Your Majesty, please do not look down on Emperor Xuanzong. Perhaps Your Majesty will do the same in the future."

After hearing this, Zhao Xu bulged his eyes and asked, "Why do you say that?"

In the past you always compared me to Emperor Taizong of Tang and Emperor Wu of Han, but today you are comparing me to Emperor Xuanzong of Tang. How cruel!

Zhang Fei said: "Because this is human nature. When Your Majesty has eliminated all the enemies around you and created an unprecedented prosperous era, wouldn't Your Majesty enjoy it? This is impossible. Didn't Emperor Taizong of Tang also start to enjoy himself when he was old?

At that time, Your Majesty will also appoint people based on personal connections, think that the public security, procuratorate and courts are obstructing matters, and then use eunuchs to interfere in government affairs to avoid the supervision of the public security, procuratorate and courts, and start a new round of internal friction, thus causing the empire to decline. "

Zhao Xu's face was gloomy, and he snorted, "I know that you just want to use this to persuade me to protect the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs, because the law of the legal system is the mystery of the arrogant dragon's regrets."

"Not at all."

Zhang Fei shook his head and said, "In my opinion, no matter how good a system is, it will eventually become like human nature. It's just a matter of time. The real meaning of "Kang Long You Hui" is that if Your Majesty is enlightened, it can delay the decline. Otherwise, it will accelerate the decline."

"Yeah?"

Zhao Xu said: "Since the key lies with me, then the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs will not play a big role."

Zhang Fei hesitated for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, do you know why our dynasty values ​​civil affairs over military affairs?"

Zhao Xu said: "Because the Jiedushi of the previous dynasty rebelled."

Zhang Fei said: "If the empire falls because of your majesty's destruction of the legal system, then the next empire will definitely have strict laws to prevent the monarch from undermining the judiciary. The public security, procuratorial and legal systems will not disappear with the fall of the empire, but will be reborn from the ashes."

Zhao Xu said: "So you are suggesting that I make a law to restrain me."

Zhang Fei shook his head and said, "Of course not. If Your Majesty is subject to fewer restrictions, we will also be subject to fewer restrictions."

Zhao Xu laughed and said, "In fact, I don't regret that I followed your advice and put some power into the cage. It is because of this that I can trust those generals to lead the army on the front line for several years, and I can trust Wang Jiefu and Wen Kuanfu to work together. I will never repeat the mistakes of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang."

Zhang Fei laughed and said, "We'll talk about it later."

Zhao Xu said depressedly: "You look down on me like this."

Zhang Fei said: "It is difficult for human nature to withstand the test."

Zhao Xu snorted, "Let's wait and see."