Although the Liao ruler Yelu Hongji, who was also Qiao Feng's sworn brother, was rather incompetent in governing the country and appointed treacherous and powerful officials, causing the Liao's national strength to steadily decline, it was depressing that he did not make any mistakes in handling relations with the Song Dynasty.
In fact, since Wang Anshi came to power and carried out reforms, the Liao Kingdom has been closely monitoring every move of the Song Dynasty. This was mainly because Wang Anshi's slogans were too loud. He wanted to strengthen the army and enrich the country, which made the surrounding neighbors very nervous, not just the Liao Kingdom.
You're coming here for us.
There was actually some debate within the Liao Kingdom as to whether or not to use force to interrupt the Song Dynasty's reforms. However, since the people of both countries had a strong anti-war sentiment and everyone was very satisfied with the current relationship, they finally decided to wait and see.
The so-called wait and see actually means to see whether the Song Dynasty will attack Western Xia.
As long as the Song Dynasty made any move, the Liao Kingdom would immediately start looking for trouble on the border in preparation for an attack on the Northern Song Dynasty.
Because the Liao Kingdom would never accept allowing the Song Dynasty to destroy Western Xia.
Before the battle, the Liao Kingdom found an excuse to stockpile 80,000 main forces in Hedong.
This time, the Liao Kingdom sent troops to occupy the disputed territory of Hedong not for that little bit of territory, but mainly to put pressure on the flank of the Song army.
In fact, they had plans to attack, but it all depended on what the Song Dynasty was going to do.
...
...
If the Song Dynasty was like the Qingli period, it would have hundreds of thousands of troops, divided into several routes, and launched a massive attack.
Then at the critical moment, that is, when Western Xia could not hold on, they would send troops to Song Dynasty, making it difficult for the Song Dynasty to defend both ends, and then use Western Xia's soldiers to weaken the Song Dynasty.
They did this once during the Qingli period, and that was a huge blow to the Song Dynasty. Since then, Fu Bi, Han Qi and others had headaches when they heard about using troops, as they used to be advocates of war.
This was undoubtedly the most perfect outcome for the Liao Kingdom.
But they never expected that the Song Dynasty would come up with a "Ru Attack" plan.
You said the Song Dynasty did not attack.
According to information from spies, there are at least 100,000 main forces active in the territory of Western Xia. Isn't this an attack?
But if you say he attacked, he really just moved forward one step and then stopped moving. He could be withdrawn at any time to defend against the Liao army advancing southward.
Seeing this, the Liao Kingdom could only test the waters by taking over the disputed area first, creating some chaos within the Song Dynasty and at the same time relieving the pressure on Empress Dowager Liang.
In fact, before Zhang Fei's judgment, all this was still within the Liao Kingdom's expectations. After all, the Song Dynasty did not dare to launch a large-scale attack on Western Xia. They consumed each other, and the Liao Kingdom reaped the benefits.
Originally, when negotiating with Han Wei, the Liao Kingdom also planned to take another step forward, which was to require Xiongzhou to demolish those fortresses.
However, the judgment issued by the chief judge confused both parties and made the whole matter confusing.
Even the Song Dynasty did not expect that it would break with the Liao Kingdom without any conscription, so the Liao Kingdom was caught off guard. They were prepared to use force against the Song Dynasty, and they had already begun to mobilize troops as soon as the Western Xia became chaotic, but since there was no conscription, they were in a panic and quickly sent a letter to Shangjing.
At first, the Liao officials didn’t know how to write the letter. If they had to write that the Grand Minister of the Southern Dynasty had frozen our annual tribute, the Liao ruler might not understand it!
So they directly said that the Song Dynasty stopped paying annual tribute this year because of the Hedong incident.
What should we do now?
This kind of thing can only be ordered by the Liao ruler himself.
On the other hand, in the Song Dynasty, although the people strongly supported the judgment of the chief judge, the ruling class was in a panic, especially when they learned that the Youzhou negotiations had been declared over. They were extremely nervous because they had a natural fear of the Liao Kingdom.
They were a little stunned before, because judging from the development of the whole thing, it was unlikely to lead to a breakup.
Who would have thought that the Chief Justice could freeze the annual tribute.
This matter fermented too quickly, and it was initiated by the Supreme Imperial Court, which was not a traditional model. At this time, they didn't know what to do and were not mentally prepared for this.
Now that they had come to their senses and saw that war was really about to come, officials, dignitaries, and generals from the entire north were all sending letters to the court on express horses.
Your Majesty! We can't start a war!
The Treaty of Chanyuan was established by the late emperor for the benefit of all people in the world. But now the border is thriving, cattle and sheep are roaming the wild, and the people in white are inexperienced in fighting. How can the Treaty of Chanyuan be destroyed because of a ruling by the chief judge?
Some people even demanded that Zhang Fei be held accountable.
They don't care about public opinion now and are putting pressure on Zhao Xu in various ways. There is no need for us to go to this step. We can still talk about the Hedong territory.
Of course they don't want to go to war. Now they are enjoying wealth and glory. If they fight and lose, they may become prisoners.
And with the help of local power, the voices of opposition from the court instantly reached a peak.
But what is different from the past is that they cannot violate the concept of the rule of law.
This opposition voice is only limited to some interest groups. Compared with before, its power has been weakened a lot, but it still has some lethality.
Faced with public opinion among local officials, Fu Bi, Wang Anshi, Sima Guang and others were all deeply worried about this.
Zhang family.
"The situation is very unfavorable to you now, you have to be careful."
Sima Guang said with a worried look on his face: "Many officials have written to the court to oppose the freezing of the annual tribute and want to hold you accountable. Although legally speaking, you are not wrong, but if there is a slight mistake on the front line, you may face a huge crisis."
Wang Anshi added: "Many people are deliberately trying to use this incident to deal with you."
Xu Zun, who was standing by, was also deeply worried. This kind of routine had been recorded countless times in history books.
Zhang Fei said helplessly: "I can't do anything about this. I'm just handling it impartially. In front of the law, I can't care so much."
Wang Anshi snorted, "Stop fooling us here. This is not the first time you have done this. Tell us what you are planning, and we will help you."
They know Zhang Fei very well. This kid seems radical, but he is actually as steady as an old dog. There must be something fishy going on here.
But at the moment, they can't think of any sure-fire way to win.
Zhang Fei said: "I am not planning anything. I just insist on one thing: I must defend the rights of the people. It's that simple."
Sima Guang said unhappily, "Do you think we will believe it?"
Zhang Fei asked back: "May I ask the two Grand Secretaries, what do you think I am after?"
Wang Anshi asked, "Do you want to urge our country to go to war with the Liao Kingdom?"
Zhang Fei immediately raised his hand and said, "I swear to God, I have absolutely no such thoughts. I am firmly opposed to going to war with the Liao Kingdom."
"really?"
"Absolutely."
"But if you do this, it will definitely lead to a war with the Liao Kingdom."
"Perhaps the Liao Kingdom is not as powerful as you two think, and they are just bluffing."
"bluff?"
Wang Anshi and Sima Guang looked at each other, and then looked at Zhang Fei at the same time, Are you serious?
Just at this moment, Li Si came to the door and someone from the palace came to ask Zhang Fei to enter the palace.
There was no way out. The emperor had summoned him, so Zhang Fei had to leave for the time being.
Wang Anshi and Sima Guang looked at Xu Zun at the same time.
Xu Zun hurriedly said: "Don't look at me, I know nothing about this."
At this point, he changed the subject and said, "But I believe Zhang San. Since he said so, he will definitely not go to war with the Liao Kingdom."
Sima Guang nodded and said, "Although this is not the first time, he has concealed many things every time, but he has never lied to us."
"That's true."
Wang Anshi nodded and said, "But it is impossible for Liao Kingdom not to send troops!"
Sima Guang was almost scratching his head, "What kind of mystery is hidden in this?"
In fact, the two of them had the same opinion on this matter, that is, they believed that this was definitely not the time to go to war with the Liao Kingdom. They were more worried that going to war would interrupt domestic reforms, especially since Zhang Fei was in the middle of this vortex.
It's not that the entire reform depends on Zhang Fei alone. In fact, the reform is presided over by the two of them. But Zhang Fei froze the annual tribute through the system. Once there is a problem, Zhang Fei will most likely be held accountable, and the law may also suffer a great blow. It goes without saying that those people will definitely demand constraints on the law.
In the carriage.
"During this turmoil, all kinds of monsters and demons have emerged. We have found that some officials, landlords, and merchants in Hebei have been secretly in contact with the Liao Kingdom, and we have found concrete evidence."
Then, Li Bao asked Zhang Fei, "When do we start?"
“No hurry.”
Zhang Fei said: "We still have to rely on them now to give Liao some hope. After we win the first battle, we will settle accounts with them. Regardless of whether they are loyal or treacherous, they have become a burden to the country."
Li Bao nodded and said, "I understand."
Zhang Fei added: "But Brother Bao..."
"Just call me Xiaobao." Li Bao said hurriedly.
".!"
Zhang Fei didn't know whether to laugh or cry, "The most critical link is in your hands now, so don't make any mistakes."
Li Bao said hurriedly: "Don't worry, we have made twelve plans for this step to ensure success."
"That's good."
When I arrived at the palace, I saw Zhao Xu sitting there alone drinking.
When he saw Zhang Fei, he complained: "You are the one who gets all the limelight, but all the pressure is on me. This is really unreasonable."
Zhang Fei said: "Everything is going according to plan, Your Majesty has nothing to worry about."
Zhao Xu said, "If they hadn't made trouble, I would have been able to handle it with ease. But now that they're making trouble, it's as if I've ignored the advice of my ministers and the people of the world and have to break off relations with the Liao Kingdom. You can imagine what the consequences will be if I lose. They will blame me and use my ancestors to attack me."
By doing this, they are increasing the cost for the emperor to choose to go to war, which will indeed put a lot of pressure on the emperor.
Originally, victory and defeat are common in the military. If you lose, you just have to win back. But in this situation, once the front line loses, they will come in droves.
This happened more than once during the Song Dynasty.
Zhang Fei said, "I am still there to support them. They will definitely ask for my death. I will become the biggest traitor in the Song Dynasty, just like Li Linfu."
Zhao Xu was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "You think very clearly."
Zhang Fei said righteously, "I have said before that I will help Your Majesty to bear all the pressure, and Your Majesty does not need to worry too much."
Zhao Xu was also infected by his optimistic mood and said with a smile: "Don't worry, I will advance and retreat with you."
Zhang Fei said: "I would rather take a gamble with them."
Zhao Xu was surprised and asked, "Take a gamble?"
Zhang Fei nodded and said, "What if we win?"
Zhao Xu asked, "What do you want?"
Zhang Fei said: "At this moment, the army and the people in Hebei are united, but they are still putting pressure on Your Majesty at this juncture. It is clear that they only want to preserve their own wealth and glory, and ignore the interests of Your Majesty and the country. If you continue to keep them, it will only delay Your Majesty's ambitions and hegemony. Sooner or later, they will cause trouble."
Zhao Xu nodded and said, "You don't need to tell me that. After this battle, if we win, I will settle accounts with them."
In fact, the current domestic reforms are nearing their end, and the law has weakened their power, but these officials are no longer suitable for the current Song Dynasty and must be dealt with.
But to deal with these people, you must have the right time, place and people, and you must have sufficient reasons.
The present moment is an opportunity.
Of course, this moment was definitely the most stressful moment in Zhao Xu's life. The pressure of tearing up the Treaty of Chanyuan was much greater than the pressure of using military force against Western Xia, because he was making a decision that went against his ancestors.
He can't afford to lose this battle.
The pressure of this first battle fell entirely on Liu Changzuo, the commander of the Xiongzhou militia.
If the Liao Kingdom sent troops from Youzhou, the first checkpoint would definitely be the Waqiao Pass, which they were very familiar with, also known as Xiongzhou.
When Shi Jingtang surrendered to the Liao Kingdom, he also offered Xiongzhou to the Liao Kingdom. It was the wise and capable Chai Shizong who conquered Xiongzhou when he conquered the Liao Kingdom, laying the foundation for the future conquest of the Liao Kingdom. Unfortunately, his successor was not up to the task.
Therefore, when Empress Dowager Xiao later attacked the Song Dynasty, she sent troops in the name of recovering this pass. At that time, she did capture the pass in one fell swoop. However, after the Treaty of Chanyuan, the pass was returned to the Song Dynasty, with the agreement that no fortress could be built here.
When Yelu Hongji, the Liao ruler who was hunting in Shangjing, received the news from Youzhou, he was also furious. If the Song Dynasty did not pay annual tribute, there would be no possibility of friendly relations.
People in the Song Dynasty knew this truth.
There will definitely be a fight, there is no doubt about it.
Even the pro-Song ministers within Liao believed that troops should be sent because it was the only means they had.
The question is how to fight.
Is it a direct national war?
After some analysis by the Liao ministers and based on the information brought by the spies, they all believed that there were mostly opposing opinions in the Song Dynasty, and it was all the work of the young emperor and the chief minister. As long as they sent troops to seize Waqiaoguan and use force to put pressure on the Song emperor, he would inevitably be unable to withstand the domestic pressure and choose to compromise.
We can negotiate again then and ask for a higher price.
However, if a national war was launched, the Song Dynasty would have no way out and could only fight to the end. The anti-war faction within the Song Dynasty would be of no use, and the Liao Kingdom might not be able to withstand it either. The key point was that the situation within the Liao Kingdom was also very delicate because their crown prince had mysteriously died of illness more than a year ago.
In the end, the Liao ruler adopted their advice and ordered the Youzhou garrison commander to lead his 20,000 elite cavalry to attack Waqiao Pass.
The Song Dynasty also increased its troops in Xiongzhou to 50,000.
The Liao Kingdom had already received news of firearms in Western Xia, but they also knew a major drawback of firearms, which was that they did not work well on rainy days, so they waited until a rainy day to launch the attack.
That day, in the afternoon, it was cloudy and rainy, and the two sides fought fiercely at the Juma River in front of Waqiao Pass.
Liu Changzuo first sent the Xiongzhou garrison to meet the enemy. Although the Xiongzhou garrison had been reorganized, they had lived under the shadow of the Khitans for many years. When they saw the Khitans waving their swords and chopping at them, they were frightened and were quickly defeated.
The Liao Dynasty's vanguard army was really overwhelming and directly crossed the Juma River. At this time, Liu Changzuo personally led 20,000 fresh troops, namely the royal police, to come to support.
These royal policemen were all young and energetic, and had never fought against the Liao people. They were like newborn calves that were not afraid of tigers. In addition, the commander-in-chief personally took part in the battle, and they quickly stopped the Liao army with their numerical advantage.
But this was only the vanguard of the Liao Kingdom. The main force of the Liao Kingdom behind them had been observing and saw that the Song people were still the same, without any change. Moreover, no firearms were seen from beginning to end. The two sides had already engaged in a melee, and firearms were useless.
Seeing that the enemy's troops were increasing in number, the vanguard army was no match for the enemy, so the Liao army sent out its main force, crossed the Juma River and came to support.
But when just one-third of the people had arrived, they suddenly heard a sound of breaking air. They were very familiar with this sound. It was the Song army's crossbow. Looking up, they saw that the giant spear was coming towards them with sparks and lightning.
Huh? Why is this crossbow still emitting sparks?
Before they could react, they heard screams. Many Liao soldiers were unable to dodge and were shot away. Then there was another explosion. In an instant, the river bank on the Song army's side was filled with smoke. The war horses were frightened and rushed around uncontrollably, causing the Liao army's formation to fall into chaos.
It turned out that this was also a modified crossbow with a large amount of gunpowder tied to it. Although its lethality was limited, the explosion caused their horses to panic.
No sooner said than done, there was another burst of fierce artillery fire not far ahead, and dozens of black eggs were seen flying towards them.
At this time, the Liao army camp was relatively concentrated and in a panic, and they could not take care of anything. One artillery shell could roll over a large area.
The main force of the Liao army was immediately thrown to the ground.
Doesn’t this mean that firearms cannot be used in rainy days?
Little did they know that the Song army deliberately left a loophole for the Liao Kingdom. The firearms were mainly used against the Liao Kingdom, and were only taken to Western Xia for testing. However, the Liao Kingdom would certainly know about it, so they deliberately did not use them on rainy days, and also spread the news that firearms could not be used on rainy days. But in fact, the Military Equipment Inspectorate had already figured out a way to allow firearms to be used in rainy days.
Moreover, they concealed the range of the artillery. After all, the northwest was just for defense, and they could rely on the terrain and did not need to use all their means. In fact, muskets were more commonly used there.
The vanguard army that was fighting with the Song army, when they saw that the main force behind them was in chaos and were frightened by the artillery fire, dared not fight anymore and quickly turned around and ran away.
At this time, two cavalry units rushed out from both wings. Although there were only two hundred of them together, their appearance at this time was really fatal to the Liao army!
The key point is that these Liao soldiers have not been on the battlefield for a long time and are not as good as Liu Changzuo, who at least fought his way out from Hehuang.
The entire defense plan was arranged by him personally.
There were two options at the time. One was to use firearms to prevent the Liao army from crossing the river. The other was to let them cross the river and then fight them.
Liu Changzuo knew very well that firearms were not omnipotent, but the effect would definitely be the best if used for the first time. So he chose to let the Liao army cross the river, and then use firearms and crossbows to cut off the Liao army in half.
Catch them off guard.
run!
The Liao army could only retreat in a hurry, but because there was smoke everywhere, countless Liao soldiers were trampled to death by their own people.
The Song army only chased the enemy to the river bank and did not cross the river to pursue the victory. The key point was that they could not catch up.
"Great victory! Great victory! Great victory at Waqiaoguan!"
But one could see fast horses running from Xiongzhou to Tokyo Bianliang, shouting as they ran.
When the people along the way heard the news of the great victory at the front, they couldn't help but be ecstatic and cried with joy.
Although encouraged by the Grand Court President, the entire Hebei region was still very depressed. Who isn't afraid of war? Now, after hearing about the great victory at Waqiaoguan, the emotions that had been suppressed for many days were finally released.
When the news reached Tokyo Bianliang, it was already three o'clock in the morning. Zhao Xu had fallen asleep, but when he heard the sound of "great victory" coming from the corridor, he ignored everything and rushed out barefoot.
Lan Yuanzhen excitedly reported the good news to Zhao Xu, "Your Majesty, the good news just came in, a great victory at Waqiao Pass, our army won a great victory."
"really?"
Zhao Xu excitedly grabbed Lan Yuanzhen's arm.
"Absolutely true. This is good news from the front line." Lan Yuanzhen couldn't move his arms and could only shake his wrists.
Zhao Xu immediately let him go, snatched the letter, opened it and began to read. Gradually, tears flashed in his eyes and he murmured to himself, "Success! We succeeded!"
After saying this, he seemed to remember something and said, "Immediately summon the Grand Court President to the palace."
"yes!"
An hour later.
"call!"
Zhang Fei kept wiping his sweat, "It's really not easy!"
After hearing this, Zhao Xu laughed and said, "So you also know how to be afraid."
Zhang Fei said embarrassedly: "Although we have made sufficient preparations, if the Liao Kingdom uses all its national strength to fight, then we will have no choice, but this is unlikely, so they will definitely only have one army to attack the border state. For us, as long as we defend the first battle, we will win. If we don't dare to gamble on this, it would be too cowardly. It's just that I can't fight and can only rely on the frontline soldiers. I'm afraid they will collapse at the first touch. Fortunately, God will not let down those who work hard!"
Zhao Xu laughed and asked, "What's the next step?"
Zhang Fei immediately said: "We must publicize it vigorously. The significance of this battle is not how many Liao soldiers we killed or how great a victory we achieved, but to help us overcome the fear in our hearts. The Liao army is not invincible. Then your majesty can use this to abolish the Chanyuan Alliance.
We won the first battle, and we did it with firearms. This will give the Liao Kingdom a huge shock and let them know that they can't swallow us. At this time, I will hand over the intelligence to the Liao Lord, and the Liao Lord will definitely change his strategy and focus on domestic affairs first. "
Zhao Xu nodded.
The next day.
At dawn that day, all the people came to the streets to discuss the great victory reported from the front. At present, they had only heard rumors and did not know whether they were true or false.
And that very afternoon, the news of this great victory was published in the newspapers, which was the official confirmation, and the firearms were highly praised in the newspapers.
The people of the capital were immediately greatly encouraged and sang and danced to celebrate this great victory.
It was as if they had already destroyed the Liao Kingdom.
However, the court was relatively quiet, and some people even raised doubts. If the Liao Kingdom really sent out its main forces, it would be impossible to start a war so soon. Moreover, there were only a few defenders in Xiongzhou, and it was impossible to win such a decisive victory. The key point was that no news came from other places.
Even Hedong was silent.
Is this really a “great victory”?
Even Wen Yanbo was very cautious about this.
As news continued to arrive, they finally discovered that the so-called "great victory" was only a defensive victory and a local conflict. The Liao Kingdom only mobilized the garrison of Youzhou, and the main force had not yet arrived.
But in terms of public opinion, it seemed that the Song Dynasty had already achieved a decisive victory.
Many kind-hearted ministers quickly wrote to the emperor, saying, "Don't be fooled. This is only a small victory, not a great one."
Little did they know that the emperor knew it better than them.
However, at this time, many people suddenly jointly appealed to the Supreme Imperial Court, suing the Liao Kingdom for not abiding by the Chanyuan Alliance, sending troops without authorization, attacking Waqiao Pass, and killing innocent people of our dynasty, and demanding the abolition of the Chanyuan Alliance.
The ministers were dumbfounded again.
You guys are addicted to suing, can you sue for this?
The atmosphere suddenly became tense again.
If the Treaty of Chanyuan is abolished, there will be no room for maneuver.
But they could not stop the Grand President.
Urgent!
Everyone is anxious!
Everyone is like an ant on hot pot. What should we do?
Fortunately, this time Zhang Fei did not say that he would hold a trial, but instead reported the matter directly to the emperor.
Chuigong Hall.
"Grand President."
"I am here."
Zhang Fei stood up immediately.
Zhao Xu asked, "What do you think about the people's criticism of the Liao Kingdom for violating the Chanyuan Alliance?"
Zhang Fei said: "According to the evidence, it was indeed the Liao Kingdom that broke the alliance first."
Before he finished speaking, Yang Ji said, "Let's not talk about this evidence first. May I ask the Grand Court President, can such a thing be prosecuted?"
Zhang Fei replied: "Of course the people have the right to sue."
"I'd like to hear the details." Yang Ji said.
Zhang Fei asked in return: "Where do you think the annual tribute to Liao came from?"
Yang Ji was stunned, "What do you mean?"
Zhang Fei said: "Most of the annual tribute is the tax paid by the people. The reason why the people were willing to pay it in the past was because they hoped to gain peace through it. But now that they can't gain peace, the people will of course be dissatisfied, and they certainly have the right to sue."
All the ministers present thought that Zhang Fei was talking nonsense and asked whether the annual tribute was ever decided by the people.
But there is nothing logically wrong with what he said, and it is difficult for you to refute him. You can't say that the court ignored public opinion and insisted on paying annual tribute.
The court's statement was also to prevent the people from being caught up in the war.
Everything must be done from the perspective of justice.
Yang Ji pointed at Zhang Fei and said, "This is obviously you..."
"What?"
Zhang Fei looked at Yang Ji with a smile.
Yang Ji wanted to say, wasn't it you who froze the annual tribute first, which triggered the war?
But given the current public opinion environment, he doesn't dare to say it.
Zhao Xu asked: "If that's the case, why doesn't the chief judge hold a trial?"
Zhang Fei said: "Your Majesty, I dare not."
"Why not?" Zhao Xu asked.
Zhang Fei said: "Because the Chanyuan Alliance brought decades of peace to the two countries, and it is also the most important diplomatic relationship of our dynasty. It is a matter of great importance. I dare not make a decision on my own, and it is not something that the Supreme Imperial Court can decide."
After these words were spoken, Wang Anshi, Sima Guang and others looked at Zhang Fei in surprise.
Isn't this what you came up with?
What are you pretending here?
Zhao Xu also asked: "When the Grand Court President froze the annual tribute, that wasn't what he said before."
Zhang Fei said, "Your Majesty, the freezing of the annual tribute was also based on the Liao Kingdom's occupation of our Hedong territory and the expulsion of our people from the area. In my opinion, this is actually worse than the nature of the Liao Kingdom's military action this time. But I did not say at the time that I wanted to abolish the Chanyuan Alliance. In fact, I did not agree to destroy the Chanyuan Alliance from the beginning to the end."
Stunned!
Everyone was stunned!
What on earth are you singing about?
Why can’t we understand?
Zhang Fei's words stunned all the ministers present.
I guess you don't agree!
Did we misunderstand you?
Zhao Xu smiled coldly at this, and suddenly said with emotion: "Sometimes I really envy the Liao emperor. I heard that the reason why the Liao soldiers want to occupy the Hedong area is because their Yishi tribe needs more pastures and farmland, so the Liao ministers requested to send troops to Hedong to alleviate the difficulties of the Yishi tribe.
When our dynasty froze the annual tribute, the Liao people were united in their desire to send troops to our country, and no one even sent anyone to ask the reason. The Liao emperor was really blessed!"
At this point, he looked around and said, “On the other hand, after the Liao soldiers invaded our territory without authorization, all of our ministers advised me to put the overall situation first.
The Grand Court President defended the rights and interests of our people in accordance with the law, but many officials demanded that the Grand Court President be arrested.
Now the Liao Kingdom has already sent out its troops, and our army has won the victory. Before I could be happy, my ministers told me that our army had merely defended against the Liao army, which could not be considered a victory, and that the Liao army would soon march south in large numbers. They also suggested that I quickly make peace with the Liao Kingdom.
We are both subjects, why is there such a big difference between us? "
Zhang Fei immediately bowed and said, "I am guilty. I have failed the grace of the emperor and the people of the world."
After seeing this, the other ministers had no choice but to stand up and say, "I am guilty."
Zhao Xu stood up and said, "Whether you are guilty or not, we have to wait for the results of the investigation to tell."
A few clicks.
I saw a few pieces of wood falling to the ground.
The findings?
What the hell?
Isn't this just a show?
Are you serious?
Zhao Xu only glanced at the pieces of wood on the ground, and suddenly said in a loud voice: "Although I have no intention of going to war with the Liao Kingdom, I also hope that the people of the two countries can continue to live in peace. However, the Liao Kingdom has repeatedly violated the Chanyuan Alliance, which has seriously harmed the interests of the people of the Song Dynasty. I no longer trust them. I have decided to formally abolish the Chanyuan Alliance. If the Liao Kingdom is sincere and negotiates with our dynasty on an equal footing in the future, I am still willing to live in peace with it."
After hearing this, all the ministers were shocked.
What?
Does this mean the abolition of the Treaty of Chanyuan?
Just because of a local defensive victory, are you drunk?
Some ministers didn't care about that anymore and immediately shouted, "Your Majesty, please come back!"
Before he could utter this thought, Zhao Xu had already left.
Those ministers felt like they were in a dream. How did they end up like this?
Swish, swish, swish!
Countless angry eyes were directed at Zhang Fei.
Zhang Fei said innocently, "Everyone, don't look at me like that. I just made it very clear that I am on your side. I do not agree with abolishing the Chanyuan Alliance."
"Bah! Listen to me, kid. If anything goes wrong with my century-old foundation, I will make sure you lose your head."
The abolition of the Chanyuan Alliance was such a huge shock to them that they could no longer care about anything else.
Zhang Fei stopped pretending and laughed, "You should take care of yourselves first. I really don't want you to sit in the dock of the Supreme Court one day. Goodbye."
After that, he walked out of the palace. Just as he reached the door, he turned back and said, "Oh, if unfortunately, we meet in the Supreme Imperial Court, please don't send gifts to my house. I am not short of money. Oh no, I am a ruthless person."
After saying that, he waved his sleeves and walked out the door.
A group of officials were left dumbfounded.
Wang Anshi and Sima Guang looked at each other, then chased after him quietly.
"Didn't you say you wouldn't start a war?"
Wang Anshi grabbed Zhang Fei's sleeve and questioned.
Zhang Fei said: "I didn't say that. I just said that I was against war and I thought Liao was bluffing."
Sima Guang frowned and said, "The fight has already started, or is it just bluffing?"
Zhang Fei said: "Isn't this just bluffing? They seem powerful, but they were beaten badly by our army. Don't worry, I think the Liao Kingdom will not dare to fight again after this defeat."
is that so?
Wang Anshi and Sima Guang became more and more confused and could no longer tell the directions.
The next day.
Zhao Xu then formally issued an edict to inform the people of the world that since the Liao Kingdom had violated the alliance, disregarded the friendship between the two countries, invaded our territory, harmed the interests of our people, and sent troops to attack Waqiao Pass, I have decided to formally abolish the Treaty of Chanyuan from that day on.
He also promised that the annual tribute previously given to the Liao Kingdom would be used entirely to compensate the losses of the people in the border states of our dynasty and to reward the defenders of Xiongzhou.
Not only that, he also criticized the Western Xia and formally abolished the Qingli Conference.
Why was Zhang Fei so cowardly in the palace? It was simply because he wanted to leave this to Zhao Xu to act.
It can be judged, but it is not necessary.
This is definitely a historic moment.
Once this decree was issued, it was a celebration for the whole world.
People took to the streets in droves, all supporting the emperor's wise decision.
The scholars also published a large number of articles in newspapers, praising the current emperor for washing away the humiliation of the Song Dynasty for many years. They also revealed a lot of shocking information, saying how the Liao Kingdom oppressed our country and how it harmed our people during the negotiations. The entire public opinion trend took a 180-degree turn. No one talked about the friendship between Song and Liao anymore, and the people of the two countries lived happily together.
At this moment, the Treaty of Chanyuan was defined as humiliation.
Although the victory at Waqiaoguan was exaggerated, it effectively eliminated the people's fear of the Liao Kingdom. The Liao army was not invincible. In addition, the country's strength was growing, and the Western Xia had won victory after victory. The people's tempers had improved a lot and they were unwilling to endure this humiliation anymore, especially the annual tribute to the Liao Kingdom.
As for those rational articles, it’s not that no one writes them, but that they simply cannot be published.
Because no one dares to print. Even if the government doesn't care, they will be scolded to death. How can they still do business?
Daming Mansion.
In front of a large mansion, there stood more than a dozen men in special uniforms.
Boom boom boom!
After a fierce knock on the door, it slowly opened and a doorman looked at them nervously, "Who are you?"
The leader took out an order, "We are from the Security Department of the Song Dynasty. We have a case and need your master to go back with us to assist in the investigation."
The doorman turned pale with fear after hearing this. "Please wait a moment."
Then he closed the door.
After a while, another young man came out. He walked out of the door and bowed, saying, "I am Qin Chengyi. What can I do for you?"
The leader repeated his purpose again.
Qin Chengyi said: "My grandfather has always been law-abiding. What exactly is this case? I hope you can explain it clearly. I think there must be some misunderstanding."
The man said, "Whether it is a misunderstanding or not, we will know after investigation."
Qin Chengyi's expression changed. "My grandfather has been feeling unwell recently. When he gets better, he will come to assist you in your investigation."
The man said, "If Doctor Qin is not feeling well, we will allow the doctor to accompany him."
After saying that, he waved his hand, and more than a dozen people behind him immediately pushed the door open and rushed in.
“Bold.”
Qin Chengyi shouted angrily, "My grandfather is a doctor appointed by Emperor Renzong himself. If you dare to trespass, I will make you lose your heads."
The leader said, "You have to come with us."
On this day, all the staff of the Security Department of the Song Dynasty were mobilized, and Daming Prefecture became extremely lively for a while. Many dignitaries, officials, and landlords were invited to have tea.
Da Song Security Department.
This was the first time that Fan Chunren knew that this seemingly inconspicuous military camp was actually the headquarters of the Song Dynasty Security Department in Daming Prefecture.
"Yun Duzhi, what right do you have to arrest people everywhere in the Security Department? If you don't give a legitimate reason today, our procuratorate will definitely sue you."
Fan Chunren questioned Yun Fei, the captain of the Song Dynasty Security Department.
Procuratorates in various places are very aggressive and will intervene in anything, no matter who the target is.
Yun Fei said in a gentle tone: "This is originally a confidential matter and should not be disclosed for the time being. However, since Chief Prosecutor Fan came to inquire in person, I dare not hide it. Now those people are involved in the crime of treason."
"Collaborating with the enemy?"
Fan Chunren was immediately shocked, as he knew many of the doctors among them.
"Yes."
Yun Fei nodded and said: "Some of them informed Liao of our country's important information, but for now, it is still in the investigation stage. We have not arrested anyone, but just asked them to come back to assist in the investigation. Many of them are unwilling to cooperate, so we can only take tough measures. This is the authority of our Great Song Security Department.
In addition, once we have investigated the case, we will file a lawsuit through the procuratorate, so Chief Prosecutor Fan does not need to be anxious."
The charge of treason is a serious one. Fan Chunren was also frightened. He had never encountered such a case before, but he remained calm and said, "This is the best. If our procuratorate finds that you have framed loyal officials and framed them, we will never let it go."
Yun Fei smiled and said, "According to the system, if someone really fabricates a wrongful imprisonment, it will only be your procuratorate. We, the Song Dynasty Security Department, do not have this power."
This was the first time that Fan Chunren was left speechless by a military general.
I had finished coding in the afternoon, but then the internet went down, so I wrote another two or three thousand words.
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