"So, I still say the same thing: for the sake of the people of both countries, peace is the most important thing, and the best policy is to withdraw while the going is good."

Zhang Jian continued to persuade him, "If we continue fighting, I believe the Song can win. But even if the Liao are defeated, they can just withdraw from Yanshan. Then all the Song will get is a devastated Yanyun, an empty treasury, and a declining people's livelihood. Do you think this is a good thing for both of us?"

Fan Zhongyan was silent for a moment, then said, "If war breaks out, what will the Liao Kingdom do?"

"Move an army of 500,000 and fight to the death!"

Zhang Jian said without hesitation.

"I know the Liao Kingdom has such a large force, but does it still have the national strength to support an army of 500,000?"

Fan Zhongyan asked again: "I am afraid that after only a few months of stalemate, the Liao Kingdom will collapse on its own."

"The Book of Shang Yang: Agricultural Wars" states: "A nation is strong when its strength is concentrated." "The New Book of Tang: Biography of Li Deyu" states: "When troops from various regions are deployed, they must rely on the Ministry of Revenue for supplies, which often delays the deployment and strains the nation's strength."

The ancients realized very early that wars between countries of the same level have always been a test of national strength.

The Liao Kingdom had a strong army and controlled the Mongolian grasslands to the west, the three northeastern provinces to the east and north, the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun to the south, and countless tribes and vassal states. Fan Zhongyan believed that they could assemble an army of 500,000.

However, the same thing applies: the Liao Kingdom did not have much money. The annual tribute from the Song Kingdom alone became the mainstay of the Liao Kingdom's economy. Even if the Liao Kingdom could mobilize so many troops, he did not believe that the Liao Kingdom had the national strength to continue fighting.

But Zhang Jian's next words made Fan Zhongyan even more silent.

Zhang Jian said, "You must understand that if the annual tribute is abolished during this war, my lord will have no money or food to appease the tribes and vassal states. Then my lord's prestige among the tribes and vassal states will plummet, and civil unrest will inevitably break out in Liao. So it is better to fight to the death."

"If we gather all the food and fodder from across the country and march our entire army south, bypassing your cities and penetrating deep into your hinterland, allowing our troops to plunder, I believe that even if the Song Kingdom wins this war and destroys the Liao Kingdom, the entire north and even the south will be attacked, and the Song Kingdom will not be in a good situation!"

His tone was calm, but within this calmness, there was a resolute emphasis. Because Zhang Jian was not bluffing, but stating a cruel fact in a very calm tone.

That means if the war continues, the Liao Kingdom will only end up in a life-and-death struggle with the Song Kingdom, with both sides suffering losses or even being destroyed.

It would be a big mistake to think that most of the losses suffered by the Liao Kingdom in this battle were in the form of vassal states and tribes, and that the main elite Pi Shi Army suffered few casualties, which was more conducive to the Liao Kingdom's rule.

In fact, the tribes that were willing to obey orders were often loyal tribes that were completely submissive to the Liao Kingdom, otherwise they would not follow the Liao Kingdom to fight.

As long as the Liao Kingdom remained strong, these tribes would remain loyal and would not have any thoughts of rebellion.

However, if the Liao Kingdom suffered a crushing defeat and failed to appease them in time, these tribes would likely harbor resentment towards the Liao Kingdom, and the seeds of rebellion might sprout, which would inevitably lead to domestic turmoil.

Even if the Pi Shi Army can suppress it for a while, it cannot suppress it forever.

Even the Pi Shi Army was not necessarily reliable, because as early as the reign of Emperor Shengzong of Liao, the Pi Shi Army was no longer just composed of Khitans, but elite troops selected from various tribes.

Therefore, in order to prevent such a thing from happening, and at the same time to avoid domestic collapse and endless civil strife, and then let the Song Dynasty watch the show from the sidelines and reap the benefits while the Liao Dynasty is in endless civil strife, the Liao Dynasty will inevitably choose to fight to the death.

Commonly known as those who are barefoot are not afraid of wearing shoes.

Fan Zhongyan squeezed out a few words from between his teeth and said, "What a cruel plan! You want to transfer internal conflicts into external ones."

“What are internal contradictions and what are external contradictions?”

Zhang Jian was puzzled.

Fan Zhongyan did not explain, but simply said: "If we continue to fight like this, the Song Dynasty may suffer a serious blow, but the Liao Dynasty will undoubtedly be destroyed."

"That's better than letting Song State watch helplessly as it perishes in internal strife and lets Song State take advantage."

Zhang Jian confronted him, "Besides, we have a chance of winning this battle. From the battle between you and Yuan Hao two years ago to the battle with us this year, how many grenades do you still have? Can your artillery really stop an army of hundreds of thousands?"

"The Liao Dynasty is marching south, and Yuan Hao will never let this opportunity slip away. At this moment, your elite Northwestern Army has been deployed to Henan. Can you really defend us with all your might and fight Yuan Hao to the death?"

"And even if you can defend the city, what about the people outside? If there's war, the entire northern people will be dragged into it."

"Even if you don't care about the people in the north and only want to fight us to the death, you will inevitably have to continue to increase taxes to maintain military expenses. We may not be able to conquer the south, but if the majority of taxes are levied on the southern people, will they rebel and resist the government?"

"By then, all that will be left for your Song Dynasty will be internal and external troubles. It won't be the demise of the Liao Dynasty or the Western Xia Dynasty."

"Therefore, facing this life-or-death situation, I hope that the Minister of State will think clearly. The lives of millions, tens of millions, of people depend on you alone. The future of our two countries also depends on you alone."

His eyes were calm, and he still spoke such extremely cruel words in that calm tone.

Only this kind of calm tone can make people feel that the other party is just stating a fact, rather than making a threat or intimidation.

Fan Zhongyan's brows suddenly furrowed.

He didn't expect the Liao Kingdom to be so cruel. This move was really a tactic of destroying both oneself and the enemy.

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