The Song Dynasty has just risen, and is far from recovering to the days when the Tang Dynasty was the ruler of East Asia and all nations came to pay tribute.
From the beginning of the Song Dynasty to the present day, the former subordinates of the Tang Dynasty have all left the Song Dynasty.
Japan closed its doors to the outside world and had no official contact with the Song Dynasty.
Goryeo was attacked by the Liao Kingdom and abandoned by the Song Kingdom. It was forced to submit to the Liao Kingdom and became a vassal state of the Liao Kingdom.
Annan Jiaozhi ostensibly regarded the Song Dynasty as their overlord, but in reality they were hypocritical and often provoked the Song Dynasty on the border with Vietnam.
The Thirty-Six Kingdoms in the Western Regions had long since disappeared in the long river of history and gradually perished.
Countries or ethnic groups such as Mohe, Shiwei, Uighur, and Dangxiang either became vassals of the Liao Kingdom, or severed all ties with the Song Dynasty, or even established their own countries and became enemies of the Song Dynasty.
The only remaining allied country that still stood firmly by the Song Dynasty was the Dali Kingdom, which inherited the territory of the Nanzhao Kingdom during the Tang Dynasty.
Therefore, the Dali Kingdom was the only good son of the Song Dynasty from the beginning of the Song Dynasty to the present.
As for Qingtang, it is not a country after all, but just a small border area with two or three cities. It cannot be said to be a vassal state of the Song Dynasty.
Since the resurgence of the Song Dynasty, except for Japan, which continued to play dead and close its doors to the outside world and refused to interact with the Song Dynasty, the other countries in East Asia have made their own diplomatic changes.
First of all, Dali still did not change its pro-Song attitude, and even admired the Song Dynasty more. It not only opened its doors to strengthen economic cooperation and close commercial exchanges with the Song Dynasty, but also sent envoys many times to express its admiration for the Song Dynasty.
Then, Goryeo had long been fed up with the bullying of the Liao Kingdom. After the Song Dynasty defeated the Liao Kingdom, it rushed to curry favor with the Song Dynasty. Not only did it quickly change the reign title to accept the Song Dynasty's enthronement, it also allowed the Song Dynasty to station troops on Xingdao Island in the country, becoming a good second son of the Song Dynasty.
The third son is Annan, who was originally unruly, outwardly respectful but actually double-dealing, and secretly attacked the border of the Song Dynasty. However, after a warm and friendly "communication" with the Song Dynasty, he obediently became the third son.
Apart from this, there are no other vassal states of the Song Dynasty.
Because the Thirty-Six Kingdoms in the Western Regions have perished. Since the last ancient Western Region Kingdom, Khotan, was destroyed in 1004 AD, it was replaced by the Karakhanid Khanate and the Western Region Uighur Kingdom.
Although they also sent envoys to pay tribute after the Song Dynasty defeated the Western Xia and Liao, they were too far away and blocked by the Western Xia. They were not neighboring countries. Apart from trade, they had few political and military ties. Therefore, they could not be considered friends of the Song Dynasty.
The Tibetan tribes on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau were now in a state of disunity, with no state or political power. Their nominal common leader was the Qingtang Zuosiluo, but in reality, each fought its own wars. Aside from a few tribes that paid tribute to the Song Dynasty, they lacked a unified entity and, naturally, could not be considered a vassal of the Song.
So to sum up, among the countries bordering or very close to the Song Dynasty, Xixia and Liao were in hostile relations with the Song Dynasty, while Dali, Goryeo, and Annan were pro-Song, and only Dali was always pro-Song. Goryeo only turned back after the Song Dynasty defeated the Liao Dynasty, and Annan only changed its stance after being destroyed by the Song Dynasty.
This is the current diplomatic situation of the Song Dynasty.
At this moment, in the meeting room of the Constitutional Council, many prime ministers looked quite solemn, and a map was placed on the conference table.
It was not the world map brought by Zhao Jun, but the current situation of the countries surrounding the Song Dynasty drawn based on the world map, including the results of the Imperial City Bureau's foreign investigations over the years and conversations with the envoys.
Although this map cannot accurately depict the situation and border lines of the surrounding countries, it basically provides a rough outline that allows people to see the surrounding situation more intuitively.
"Western Xia and Liao attacked our allies and vassal states almost simultaneously. I doubt there's anything fishy going on here. What do you think?"
Zhao Jun asked as he looked at the situation on the map.
Fan Zhongyan stroked his beard and frowned, saying, "This scene reminds me of a saying."
"What?"
“A skilled warrior first makes himself invincible, waiting for the enemy to be defeated.”
"Oh? Tell me more."
Zhao Jun said.
Fan Zhongyan pointed to the territories of the Western Xia and Liao states and said, "We have deployed a large number of artillery on the border. If they attack, can we win?"
"Of course I can't."
Before Zhao Jun even said anything, the others had already denied it.
Because the national strength of the Song Dynasty leaped forward, it had basically entered the early stages of the first industrial revolution. Even so, the gap between it and agricultural countries was obvious.
In this situation, for a nation that fights with flesh and blood and on horseback to attack a nation that attacks cities with cannons and muskets is tantamount to seeking death.
So let alone Liao and Xia actively attacking the Song Dynasty, even if you encountered them in the wild, you would probably lose half your life if you ran slowly.
"That's the key."
Fan Zhongyan laughed and said, "So they no longer dare to attack the Song Dynasty's homeland. They hope that we will reveal a flaw, such as taking the initiative to attack, putting them on the defensive and thus gaining the advantage of the terrain."
"So that's how it is. Their two countries have deployed a large number of artillery on the border just like us. If we send troops to rescue Qingtang and Goryeo, we will play right into the trap of the Western and Liao bandits."
"In that case, doesn't that mean we can't take the initiative to attack? Qingtang is fine, but Goryeo will fall into the hands of the Liao Kingdom."
"The Liao Kingdom also conquered Kaesong in Goryeo, but what happened next? They had no local support, and Goryeo troops were everywhere ambushing them in the mountains. I think the Liao Kingdom will suffer the same fate this time."
"That's hard to say. Liao didn't have firearms before, so while Goryeo couldn't fight them head-on, they were able to attack them from the fringe. Now that artillery has arrived, their courage will surely be shattered."
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
