But this does not mean that Li Yuanhao really wanted to form an alliance with Yelu Zongzhen.
It's like Wu and Shu were both hostile to Wei, but this doesn't mean that the hatred caused by Wu's sneak attack on Jingzhou and the subsequent Battle of Yiling has been eliminated.
If history had changed, and the Prime Minister had successfully gone out of Qishan to recover the Yongliang area, restore the Han Dynasty, and return to the old capital, then after destroying the Wei Kingdom, the next place the Prime Minister would probably destroy would be Jiangdong, to avenge Guan Yu and the former lord Liu Bei.
"King Xia, please sit down and talk."
Yelu Zongzhen took Li Yuanhao's hand and sat on the hillside together.
At this time, a large carpet had been laid out on the slope, like a picnic blanket, on which were placed dried beef and mutton, as well as various fine wines and teas.
The two men sat cross-legged facing each other. Li Yuanhao raised his glass and said, "I would like to toast Your Majesty first."
"King Xia is very polite."
Yelu Zongzhen smiled and raised a glass of wine.
After both parties drank, they smiled at each other, and then Li Yuanhao began to talk about business: "Your Majesty also knows about that matter."
"Um."
Yelu Zongzhen took a knife and began to cut the meat. He frowned as he cut and said, "The Song Kingdom has changed so much in just ten years. If this creature that can travel a thousand miles a day appears, what do you think we should do?"
Li Yuanhao placed his left hand on his knees, fiddling with his wine glass with his right hand, and said thoughtfully, "Once the war begins, the Song army will reach the border within a day or two."
"Hmm."
Yelu Zongzhen placed a piece of cut beef in front of Li Yuanhao and said, "It seems you also know it. And it's not just the army, the most terrifying thing is the baggage they transport."
"Yes, wars are fought with baggage. Only with ample supplies can we fight the enemy to the bitter end. The Song State was able to gather enough food and fodder for hundreds of thousands of troops in a short time, and even reach our Xia State and the Liao border of Your Majesty. This is terrifying."
Li Yuanhao sighed, "This means they can fight us for a long time at the border, while our supplies will have to be transported from far away. Whether we maintain a stalemate or continue the battle, it will be very disadvantageous to us."
"God may not bless us, but he will bless the Song Dynasty."
Yelu Zongzhen also sighed, threw the knife in his hand, and wiped his hands with a cloth.
"Your Majesty, I feel that this matter is suspicious."
"Oh? How do you mean?"
"Ever since the Song Dynasty underwent some changes in recent years, I have been trying to bribe the eunuchs in the Song Dynasty's imperial palace."
"Any results?"
"There was no result before. Those Song Dynasty eunuchs, whether maids or eunuchs, would not leave the palace. It was not until last year that I found a way to find the maid who went home to visit her family. I spent a lot of money to buy information."
"What news?"
"These things are probably related to Zhao Jun, the current head of the Great Song Dynasty's Political System Council."
Li Yuanhao said firmly.
"Zhao Jun?"
Yelu Zongzhen frowned and said, "I know this person, but he is said to be a member of the Zhao clan. Apart from investigating corrupt officials and rectifying the government, there is nothing special about him."
Zhao Jun has actually been hiding it very well over the years.
If we put aside Zhao Zhen and the prime ministers in the Council of State who knew the inside story, and look at him from an outsider's perspective, we will find that he is actually very low-key.
First of all, in the military, no one knew that granular gunpowder was invented by him.
After all, gunpowder existed in the Song Dynasty, and firearms like muskets and cannons already had their initial prototypes in the Song Dynasty. They were not foreign products.
Fan Zhongyan was also responsible for marching and fighting. At least in the eyes of the Liao Kingdom and the Western Xia, Fan Zhongyan was much more famous than Zhao Jun.
The second is invention and creation.
Zhao Jun does not have the title of great inventor. The number one inventor in the Song Dynasty is Zhao Zhen.
Many strange and bizarre things were also spread by Zhao Zhen and had almost nothing to do with Zhao Jun.
Finally, it’s about reform.
The main vanguard was naturally Fan Zhongyan, followed by the Political System Council headed by Zhao Jun and the Song Emperor Zhao Zhen who fully supported him.
So in the eyes of outsiders, all the reforms and military strength of the Song Dynasty were due to Fan Zhongyan alone.
Emperor Zhao Zhen was responsible for inventions, creations, and the promotion of science and technology, as well as education in mathematics, physics, and chemistry.
These things have nothing to do with Zhao Jun.
So what is Zhao Jun doing?
He used his power as the Minister of Justice to rectify the government, eliminate corruption, investigate corrupt officials, crack down on gangs and evil, maintain local public order, and fully support Fan Zhongyan's reforms.
Any wise prime minister in ancient times could do these things, and even asking Lu Yijian and Wang Zeng to do them would have no problem at all.
Therefore, apart from being younger and having a rather strange way of coming to power, his popularity and reputation among the people of the Song Dynasty are actually not as good as Zhao Zhen and Fan Zhongyan, and he is currently ranked third.
Even though he ranks third in popularity, it is because he cleared out the cancer in Kaifeng Prefecture and toured the country, doing many things that made the common people applaud. Ordinary people regard him as a great judge, and he has almost replaced Bao Zheng's position.
If the truth had not been revealed by later generations, the most dazzling pair of emperor and minister Zhao Zhen and Fan Zhongyan would have been the most brilliant ones in Renzong's reign.
Zhao Zhen was the most wise monarch. He promoted mathematics, physics, and chemistry, advocated science and technology, and led the Song Dynasty on the path to becoming a technologically powerful country.
Fan Zhongyan not only had strong military capabilities, but was also able to preside over reforms, eliminate drawbacks, and complete changes to the Song Dynasty's system, making the Song Dynasty look brand new in all aspects and turning it into two different countries from the previous Song Dynasty!
People in later generations may even wonder why Zhao Jun was the director of the court instead of Fan Zhongyan.
So in general, both the Western Xia and Liao Kingdoms have been attracted by Zhao Zhen and Fan Zhongyan in recent years, and they both thought that their biggest enemies were the two of them.
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