"I understand the first one, but what's the reason for the second one?"
Fan Zhongyan asked.
"Have you not realized that the survival of the people of Xixia and Liao almost entirely depends on the Great Song?"
Zhao Jun smiled and said, "If the Song Dynasty uses the Liao Kingdom and Western Xia's military action against our allies as an excuse to suddenly cut off all foreign trade and impose a food blockade and economic sanctions on them, what do you think will happen to these two countries?"
Food blockades and economic sanctions?
Everyone looked at each other and could see the confusion in each other's eyes.
Only Zhao Jun still kept smiling.
In fact, over the years, the insiders sent by the Imperial City Bureau to Western Xia and Liao had already gathered intelligence on the two countries.
The Western Xia and Liao dynasties flourished in recent years, seemingly increasing their national strength. They even vigorously developed their armies, spending almost 80% to 90% of the money in the national treasury on military expenditures, following the old path of the Song Dynasty.
But in reality, the economy and food were heavily dependent on exports from the Song Dynasty.
After all, these two countries used to rely on animal husbandry and a certain amount of farming for their survival. They simply did not have enough money to develop gunpowder. Importing sulfur alone could empty the national treasury.
For this reason, the Song Dynasty "kindly" imported a large amount of Xixia and Liao specialties from them and provided them with a lot of currency, so that the two countries could maintain their domestic economic conditions and have enough money to purchase sulfur and start developing military industry.
But it is obvious that maintaining the development of firearms and military industry has almost emptied the entire treasury of Western Xia and Liao. Civilian development basically depends on the civilians themselves. For this reason, the citizens of the two countries often need to rely on selling various products to make a living.
For example, herders from Western Xia and Liao would often sell cattle, sheep, and horses to the Song Dynasty. Various furs, minerals, and medicinal materials were also purchased by the Song Dynasty, thus maintaining the private economies of the two countries.
Once the Song Dynasty imposed economic sanctions on Western Xia and Liao and embargoed various materials, both countries would instantly fall into a situation of food shortage and economic collapse.
Don't think this is unrealistic.
Historically, a war broke out between Western Xia and the Song Dynasty. The Song Dynasty cancelled the mutual trade, and the economy of Western Xia fell into despair overnight. The people in the country were living in poverty and the herdsmen suffered heavy losses. If Li Yuanhao had not won the war and finally relied on the annual compensation from the Song Dynasty to survive, Western Xia would probably have perished long ago.
Therefore, it can be said that Zhao Jun had started planning a long time ago.
The reason is, of course, today.
(End of this chapter)
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