LRAB Chapter 1257 Strategy
Chapter 1257 Strategy
Chapter 1257 Strategy
In the palace.
The emperor and his ministers, Zhang Yue, sat opposite each other.
When Zhang Yue stayed before the emperor to make comments, the chair he sat on was not a stool or a chair, but a cross-legged chair, and yes, it had a backrest.
There are different levels of seats granted to the prime minister.
At that time, Ding Wei and Li Di had a big quarrel, and Ding Wei was going to be the governor of another state together with Li Di.
However, Ding Wei had another trick up his sleeve and went into the palace to make a statement to Emperor Zhenzong.
Ding Wei expressed his willingness to resume the position of prime minister, but Zhenzong did not agree on the spot. He just gave Ding Wei the courtesy of sitting down first. At that time, the eunuchs on the left and right brought a stool for Ding Wei.
Ding Wei, however, pretended that Zhenzong had tacitly agreed, and shouted to the eunuchs, "The emperor has ordered me to restore him to the post of Prime Minister!"
The eunuch suddenly realized what was going on and immediately removed the stool and replaced it with a stool that only prime ministers could sit on for Ding Wei.
The stool is shaped like a drum, the stool has four legs, and the chair has a backrest.
After Zhao Kuangyin removed the chairs of Prime Minister Fan Zhi and three others in the court, Zhang Yue now sits back on the prime minister's chair with his ability.
Of course not in the court, but only when the emperor and his ministers were alone to discuss matters.
This was a treatment that even Prince Zhaowen and Wang Gui did not have. It was self-evident who was the number one prime minister in the emperor's heart.
Zhang Yue was different from Ding Wei. Although he resigned, he would still be the prime minister as long as the emperor did not approve. The eunuchs would not be confused and carried the chair into the hall as usual.
Zhang Yue sat on the chair two-thirds of the way, and the eunuch respectfully served him a basil drink.
Zhang Yue blew on the perilla drink, took a big sip, and put it on the table aside.
It just so happened that I had eaten mutton and my mouth was greasy, so I needed a drink to neutralize the smell of alcohol. As for taking a sip out of courtesy, that was not something I should do at my level. The literati and the emperor ruled the world together, and even if Zhang Yue didn't do it for himself, he had to win this face for the scholars of the world.
As for many of the prime ministers of the Ming and Qing dynasties, to be honest, they were all precious dogs with their testicles cut off.
Can you expect these prime ministers to take charge of the country when it is in danger?
You want the emperor to ask me to take care of so many things. How can I convince others if I don't respect the etiquette?
Zhang Yue put down his drink and glanced over the contents of the Song-Liao negotiations over the past few days, then said to the emperor: "Your Majesty, Shi Ce's talk about politics and military affairs has exaggerated the use of human resources, but ignored the use of systems and strength."
"For example, during the Battle of Changping, the history books say that King Xiaocheng of Zhao fell for a counter-espionage plot by the Qin army and replaced the experienced and prudent Lian Po with Zhao Kuo."
"But little did they know that the Zhao treasury was running out of money and food, and could not afford to support Lian Po any longer. Zhao could either be exhausted to the point of exhaustion or fight to the death. That's why King Xiaocheng of Zhao replaced Lian Po, who advocated defense, with Zhao Kuo, who advocated fighting."
"Qin had already implemented Shang Yang's system of military merit. During the Battle of Changping, the King of Qin personally went to Henei County and raised the rank of all the people in the county by one level. He also sent all those aged 15 and over to Changping to block Zhao's reinforcements and food imports."
"I am not saying that human planning is useless. But the general trend is more important than human planning!"
In history, the decision-making team headed by Emperor Huizong of Song, Cai Jing, was torn between three choices: keep Liao and resist Jin, ally with Jin to destroy Liao, or wait and see. In fact, facing the Jurchens who had already destroyed Liao, it would be very difficult for the Song Dynasty to make any choice.
The Jurchens at that time did have the power to crush everything.
Song Huizong and Cai Jing did have their own faults in governing, but they did not make many mistakes in their decision-making regarding Liao.
But it was the Jurchen cavalry that marched southwards as if they were in an empty land, and fought all the way to the city of Bianjing.
This led to the two of them leaving their positions one after another.
This pair of monarch and minister has almost become the worst combination in history. After the Jin army marched south for the first time, Song Huizong was forced to abdicate and Cai Jing starved to death on the way.
In the same time and space, what would happen if the Song and Liao dynasties went to war?
Zhang Yue and the emperor knew about the border defense of Hebei. They had been planning in the northwest before and were only now focusing on Hebei. Once the Liao cavalry reached the city of Bianjing, their situation and fate would not be better than that of Song Huizong and Cai Jing in history.
So who should take the blame?
Although Zhang Yue had already made it clear that he was willing to take on the responsibility alone, and was even willing to lead the three auxiliary armies to fight a decisive battle in the capital when the Liao army marched south.
But the government still didn't want to.
There are some unclear meanings between the ruler and his subjects.
The emperor was worried that the Liao Kingdom would attack Bianliang and shake his political foundation, but he was also unwilling to see Zhang Yue take on this matter alone.
Anyway, he had already expressed his opposition and cautious attitude, so in the end, the responsibility would all be borne by Zhang Yue. He would never give up Liangzhou no matter what.
It’s just like Song Huizong putting the blame on Cai Jing.
This pair of monarch and minister had been together for decades, and Emperor Huizong repeatedly blamed Cai Jing, but by the time the Jurchens moved south, Cai Jing was already very old. Huizong already had other ruling teams such as the "Six Thieves".
Zhang Yue always advocated a tough stance against the Liao Kingdom, but seeing that things had come to this, the government was still unwilling to agree with him.
Just cherish your life and take a step back to advance.
When the emperor and his subjects met, the emperor was secretly surprised. Zhang Yue replied, "I dare not be the first in the world!"
I have said so much, and if the emperor and his subjects still don't agree, I will leave.
The emperor now feels that the talks with the Liao Kingdom are no longer possible, and he blames himself for not sticking to his own opinion. Although you didn't say it explicitly, you have been the emperor and his subject for many years. Do you think I don't know what you are thinking in your heart?
You are angry, but am I not angry in my heart?
……
After listening to Zhang Yue's words, the emperor also thought about it calmly. After all, the emperor was still a wise ruler who could reflect on his own mistakes.
The most important thing is that he will have to rely on Zhang Yue in the future.
Finally, the emperor said: "I regret not listening to your advice at the beginning, and I never expected that Liao's ambitions would be so great."
The government has apologized and admitted its mistake.
Zhang Yue also tried to save his dignity by saying, "The world belongs to your Majesty. I am just a temporary steward. I dare not act rashly. It is only to repay your Majesty's kindness that I dare not fail to do my best."
The official said: "You said that the situation is more important than human planning, but does that mean that human planning is of no use?"
Zhang Yue said: "If I were still in charge of the negotiations with Liao, I could still use someone to save the situation. But now Sun Gu's retreat has allowed the Khitan envoy to see our strengths and weaknesses."
"What do you mean? Why do you say that the Khitans can see through my strengths and weaknesses?" the emperor asked in surprise.
Zhang Yue thought to himself, of course, the Khitan envoy Xiao Xi came to the court to ask the emperor about his whereabouts.
Zhang Yue is the prime minister of the current dynasty and a proponent of war, but he is not present. What does this mean?
Do you think people are fools?
After that, Xiao Xi gained full confidence and overturned the previous opinion of ceding Liangzhou, and then demanded that the Song Dynasty cede all the Dangxiang lands seized after the second year of Yuanfeng.
This is further testing!
But at this critical point, Sun Gu failed to catch it again.
The negotiations between Song and Liao were like two people competing to jump towards the edge of a cliff together to see who could get closer to the cliff.
Everyone pretended to fight, and then added chips little by little. In the end, either one person gave up, or one person jumped off the cliff.
It's also like playing SHOWHAND.
You take out a card, the opponent raises 50,000, and you call with 50,000.
Add another card, the opponent raises the bet to 100,000, and you also call with 100,000.
When another card was played and the Liao envoy raised the bet by one million, Sun Gu became scared and dared not follow.
The other party can see at a glance that you have no idea what you are doing.
Now the Liao Kingdom has seen through the cards in the Song Dynasty's hands and caught their attention. If you lose the SHOWHAND, all your previous bets will be gone.
All the efforts made in setting up the Three Auxiliary Armies, building up the defense lines in Hebei, and training the troops are now unable to intimidate the Khitan.
Upon hearing this, the emperor said with a frustrated look on his face: "It was a big mistake for me to let Sun Qing negotiate."
Zhang Yue said: "Your Majesty, there is no need to do this. Although our dynasty is richer than the Khitan, its military is indeed inferior to that of the Khitan. This is also the truth. It is really difficult to turn things around by relying solely on human strategies."
Sun Gu advised the emperor to treat big things as small things, but Zhang Yue chose to tell the 'truth'.
"So what are your plans next?" the official asked.
Zhang Yue said: "There is still hope for this matter!"
As long as the time has not come to reveal the cards and compare the strengths, and the Liao Kingdom has no absolute confidence that it can defeat the Song Dynasty, there is still room for improvement.
Zhang Yue said: "The outcome of a war is unpredictable. Although Hebei's troops are not as good as Khitan's, if a war really breaks out, our dynasty may not necessarily lose. As long as there is no real fighting, the Liao Kingdom will still be hesitant."
The official said, "The Liao envoy Xiao Xi said that the Liao ruler has planned to go to Yunzhong to spend the winter."
"The Ministry of Personnel and Hedong have both learned that the Khitan are indeed repairing the palace walls in Yunzhong and are also moving troops and food!"
Zhang Yue said: "Your Majesty, at this point, we can only temporarily agree to the Liao Kingdom's proposal to cede Liangzhou!"
The emperor was shocked. Although he did not want to go to war with the Khitan, he could not afford to cede Liangzhou, which he had conquered with great difficulty.
"Is there no other way?"
Zhang Yue said: "If my prediction is correct, the Liao Lord has already given up his plan and is already in the clouds."
"The Khitans may have already raised an army this autumn."
"The only strategy now is to agree to it first and then slowly drag it out. We can allow the cession of Liangzhou, but we also require the leader of the Tanguts to present us with an oath! Never offend the Song Dynasty again!"
"We can tell the Liao envoys that this matter concerns the state system, so we should be careful not to arouse public opinion among officials and the people, and we should not include it in the letter of credence. To show our sincerity, we can first return Yelu Yixin to the Liao. As long as we don't include it in the letter of credence, it will only be a verbal matter. As long as the Dangxiang people don't submit the oath, we will not cede Liangzhou."
"Even if the Tanguts submit an oath, I can still use excuses to delay. We can even agree to the Tanguts' handover but delay the deadline. As long as it's delayed past this autumn and winter, they will turn against us next year!"
The emperor's expression was also very interesting after hearing Zhang Yue's words.
What was the core of the Song-Liao negotiations?
What the Liao Kingdom wanted was an attitude from the Song Dynasty, a test of loyalty and obedience.
They may give in and admit their mistakes for now, but they will not give in on their core interests.
Zhang Yue said: "Your Majesty, I know that even if I agree to this verbally, it will be extremely humiliating, and now this is the only way!"
The official said, "What if the Liao Kingdom still demands Liangzhou next year?"
Zhang Yue said: "Your Majesty, this matter is easier to withdraw than to recover."
"At least we fought for one year, no, two years."
"As long as we conquer Xingzhou and Lingzhou, the Khitan will have to look to your majesty for his favor from now on."
The official felt a little relieved after hearing this.
The same is true when dealing with leaders.
What they want is your attitude. If they really want to deal with you, they will have to spend a lot of energy and favors. You can give in a little in attitude, but in reality you still do your own thing. Afterwards, the leader will find it troublesome and turn a blind eye.
It’s not that the leader is afraid of you, but that he has a lot of troubles himself.
But what leaders hate most is the kind of people who do bad things here and still complain about it there. They don't know how to die.
The emperor was full of hesitation when he heard this. Zhang Yue said, "Your Majesty, I know that even if I agree to this verbally, it will be humiliating."
The official said: "When Emperor Renzong was humiliated by the Tanguts, the court officials also said that they would rise up by sleeping on straw and tasting gall, but decades later, when it came to me, the great revenge was still not avenged."
"Now we are humiliated by the Liao Kingdom again. I am truly ashamed of my ancestors!"
The emperor paused and said firmly: "But I am willing to endure for the country and endure hardships! But as long as my ambitions are satisfied, I can bear this humiliation."
The emperor knew that his current strength was inferior to that of the Liao Kingdom, so he could only endure and wait for an opportunity for revenge in the future.
And when will this day come?