At this moment, the Minister of Finance, Zhao Ding, slowly stepped forward and said sternly, "That's wrong. The Xixia have beastly faces and hearts. They are not of our kind. When they are strong, they will rob and plunder, and when they are weak, they will be servile and submissive. They disregard favors and righteousness. It's their nature. Your Majesty, you should settle them inland. There are nearly 100,000 surrendered people now. If you settle them all and let them live together, in a few years, their population will multiply. They will be right beside us, right next to the royal capital. Their internal troubles will be a future threat. How can the court, for the sake of so-called favors, put the Great Song Dynasty in dire straits?"
Zhao Ding seemed very angry.
Although he was the Minister of Finance, such matters were not his business, but in history, Zhao Ding always had some prejudices against certain national policies of the Song Dynasty.
After hearing this, Li Ruyi could not help but say, "The Son of Heaven is like the sky over all things. He covers the earth and supports them. If anyone submits to me, I will nurture them. Now that Western Xia has been defeated and the remaining tribes have surrendered, Your Majesty has shown no mercy and abandoned them. This is not the way of heaven and earth, and it is the will of the four barbarians. I, your humble servant, think this is unacceptable. They should be placed in Hebei. As the saying goes, if they die, they will live; if they perish, they will survive. If they cherish my kindness, they will never rebel. But Prime Minister Zhao regards them as a serious threat. If everyone acts as you say, who will surrender?"
Zhao Ding's face was stern, and he retorted without hesitation, "During the Jin Dynasty, when the Zhao state existed, the Hu tribes were scattered across the nearby counties. Jiang Tong tried to persuade the emperor to expel them from the borderlands, but Emperor Wu ignored his advice. A few years later, they began to cause chaos in the Chan and Luo regions. This is a lesson from the previous dynasty, and the Yin dynasty is not far away. If Your Majesty listens to Li Ruyi's advice and sends the Western Xia to Hebei, you'll be raising an animal and leaving yourself vulnerable."
Zhao Ding began to quote from classics.
Li Ruyi obviously felt that Zhao Ding was worrying too much.
Are you, Zhao Ding, the only one who knows how to use allusions?
Then he said with emotion, "I have heard that the way of the sage is all-encompassing. The remaining souls of the Western Xia have surrendered to me. I will take them in and settle them in the interior, teach them etiquette and laws, select their chiefs, and place them in the imperial guards. They will fear my power and cherish my virtue. What is there to worry about? Moreover, Emperor Guangwu was the Chanyu of Henan in the inner counties, serving as a vassal of the Han Dynasty. For the rest of his life, there was no rebellion. Yet Emperor Wen of Sui, having exhausted his troops and expended his warehouses, established a Khan, and ordered the restoration of his country."
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