"Judging from the current situation, Yuan Hao has already given in. But getting him to pay the price won't be easy. What if he refuses?"
Zhao Zhen asked.
"It's easy to refuse."
Zhao Jun smiled and said, "Although the national military reform has not yet been fully completed, most of the bad apples have been eliminated, and elite troops have been selected to fill the gap. The basic combat effectiveness can still be maintained. Let's fight, it's a good opportunity to destroy Liao, Xixia and Xia."
It’s not that we can’t destroy Xixia, but it’s rather troublesome to do so at the moment.
It's like you can clearly wait a few years until your combat power reaches 120 before destroying an enemy with 20 combat power plus 50 combat power.
But when his combat power was 80, he had to deal with the Liao Kingdom and the Western Xia, two opponents with a combined combat power of 70.
Even though the Song Dynasty was stronger than them, its combat effectiveness was still lacking before the army was restructured.
We need to wait until the entire restructuring is completed, the old and weak are eliminated, military training is put on the agenda, and steel cold weapons and armor are popularized, so that cold weapons can be coordinated with the hot weapons of the firearms battalion to exert the maximum combat power.
By then, it will be much easier to fight against Liao and Xixia.
But Li Yuanhao was the first to provoke. If the Song Dynasty did not fight back, where would its reputation be?
So he must be taught a lesson.
Either cede territory, pay compensation, or pay annual tribute.
Or the Song Dynasty’s northwestern army would be dispatched to force him to cede territory and pay compensation.
There may even be a risk of national destruction.
It depends on what he chooses.
"Well, then let's stick to the original plan and make him pay compensation."
Zhao Zhen also showed his toughness for once. This matter had been discussed long ago and it was time to respond to the other party.
Since the war broke out in September, the Song Dynasty has not been sitting idle for the past three months.
Although there was no large-scale troop deployment, the war machine was running and the Hebei Iron and Steel Plant produced tons of weapons every day.
Steel weapons began to be distributed. Even though they had not yet been popularized throughout the army, tens of thousands of people had them first, and together with the firearms battalion, they were enough to deal with the Liao army.
When the time comes, we will go all out to attack Xixia, and won’t it make Li Yuanhao’s head crooked?
Therefore, the hardliners in the court also have the upper hand.
This has to do with Zhao Jun's attitude.
Everyone quickly discussed the details and immediately sent people to give Yang Xie instructions.
By mid-December, Yang Xie knew the court's intention, so he immediately summoned Li Yuanhao's envoy and expressed to him, both explicitly and implicitly, that the court needed sincerity.
He did not directly say that the Song Dynasty court demanded compensation from Li Yuanhao, because this was too purposeful and would make negotiations difficult as they would end up pulling each other off and bargaining.
The highest level of negotiation is for the other party to take the initiative, so that he can ask for a high price and negotiate the terms step by step.
A few days later, Li Yuanhao received a reply from the messenger.
In the city of Zhuolao.
Li Yuanhao has not had a good time these days.
The Dangxiang nobles benefited from the trade between Song and Xia, and actually did not want to offend the Song Dynasty, so they joined forces to put pressure on him.
The civil service remained silent because of the defeat, so the ceasefire faction gained the upper hand.
Although Li Yuanhao himself was a war advocate, he could not withstand the powerful forces below him. He and the Weiming tribe behind him could not suppress it alone.
So he had to win over a group of obedient nobles and calm their mood.
This day happened to be the day when he was holding a meeting with the leaders of several major tribes in the country, including Fei Ting, Fang Dang, Xifeng, and Pochao.
"Your Majesty, this is not a solution. The Song people are powerful, and making an enemy of them is definitely not a good idea."
"Yes, it's best to make a decision sooner rather than later. Delaying it will be detrimental to the country."
"This year's winter food was all purchased from the State of Song. Although the State of Song has not yet cancelled the trade, what will we do if they do?"
"If you ask me, Your Majesty shouldn't have listened to Zhang Yuan. He must be an insider sent by the Song Dynasty to harm our Great Xia."
"Indeed, since this man came, Great Xia has been defeated time and again. Before, when we didn't go to war with Song, we only needed to pay tribute of a few hundred cattle and horses each year to receive countless rewards. But what happened after he came?"
"Your Majesty, if we kill this man and send him to the State of Song, we will surely win their favor, and then we won't have to go to war anymore."
"Exactly."
Several people tried to persuade him in Tangut dialect, and some even shouted that they wanted to kill Zhang Yuan.
Li Yuanhao had to appease him: "I have sent people to discuss with the Song Emperor, and I believe there will be a result soon."
He didn't want Zhang Yuan to die for the time being. After all, he was a pro-war faction. If Zhang Yuan died, the pro-war faction in the country would be gone. Who would encourage him to be an enemy of the Song Dynasty in the future?
"Well, I hope so."
Someone sighed.
During the Song-Xia War in history, the Song Dynasty cancelled trade, the domestic economy of Western Xia collapsed, and the people suffered.
It is not to this point now, but they have tasted the sweetness of mutual trade for too long. They sell cattle and sheep to the Song Dynasty, and then resell the goods of the Western Regions to the Song Dynasty. They also buy tea from the Song Dynasty and sell it to Western Regions merchants in exchange for huge profits.
While the middlemen made a profit from the price difference, they themselves could also make a fortune through trade, and they could also purchase grain, tea, and ironware from the Song Dynasty to maintain the development of their tribe, killing three birds with one stone.
So although the situation in Western Xia is not bad now, no one wants things to develop to the worst point. Anyway, the Dangxiang people are not like the Khitans who always dominate the world. Continuing to deal with the Khitans and the Han people is their best choice.
"Report!"
At this moment, a soldier came from outside and reported: "The messenger has returned."
"Let him in quickly."
Li Yuanhao said quickly.
"yes."
Soldiers go out.
A moment later, the messenger who had been waiting for news in the West Market came in, bowed to Li Yuanhao with Tangut etiquette, and said, "Your Majesty."
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