Judge of the Song Dynasty Chapter 765: Heroes see the same thing

Judging from the atmosphere of this meeting, this negotiation is destined not to be conducted in a pleasant atmosphere.

Both parties entered the tent and saw a long table inside, with two rows of wooden chairs beside the table, which was relatively simple. Regarding the design of the meeting place, both parties were focused on it. It was impossible to arrange host and guest seats. In the end, Zhang Fei requested that a long table be set up, with everyone sitting on one side.

After sitting down, although it was still early, the two sides had established a friendly atmosphere, and coupled with the "accidents" that had happened before, both sides hoped that the meeting would start directly, and not wait until Chenshi.

Ever since, the meeting has just begun.

Xiao Su was the first to say: "In the Chanyuan Alliance, we agreed in Guannan to use Baigou River as the boundary river, and in the contract, it was written clearly and clearly." Everything about the cities along the border between the two countries As usual, no city gods are allowed to be built. However, in recent years, your Southern Dynasty has built more than ten arrow fortresses at the Baigou Posthouse in Zhantuoguan City, Xiongzhou. This is a serious violation of the agreement between the two countries. I wonder how you explain it?"

Lu Dazhong and other accompanying officials frowned secretly.

In fact, they had thought in advance that the other party might attack this first and thus take the initiative in the negotiations, because according to the agreement between the two countries, it was indeed the Song Dynasty that violated relevant regulations.

But if it is true, the Liao Kingdom violated more, but there is nothing that can be done against them for the time being, and in this regard, the Song Dynasty is willing to make compromises.

However, if they compromise easily, the Song Dynasty will be in a weak position in the subsequent territorial negotiations.

Zhang Fei calmly said to Lu Dazhong: "A copywriter."

Lu Dazhong was stunned for a moment, then came to his senses, and was a little confused. After all, it was his first time to cooperate with Zhang Fei, and he didn't know his habits. In the past, he always directly criticized him, because he would memorize the relevant copywriting in advance. .

Zhang Fei just gave an order and ignored Lu Dazhong. Instead, he said to Xiao Su: "We have conducted a detailed investigation on the arrow base of Baigou Posthouse. We have determined that this building does not violate the laws of the two countries. Covenant, on the contrary, is to strictly abide by the covenant between the two countries."

Xiao Sudao: "Your Excellency, you must be mistaken. It is written in black and white that everything along the border city is as usual, and no city gods are allowed to be built. The arrow base over there was newly built in recent years. Doesn't this count as a violation?"

At this moment, Lu Dazhong finally found the copy number A and quickly put it in front of Zhang Fei.

Zhang Fei immediately opened the copy and read from it: "On the tenth day of September in the first year of Qingli, dozens of northern thieves crossed the river and robbed thirty households in Guixin County. On the eighteenth day of September in the first year of Qingli, Dozens of northern thieves crossed the river again and plundered twelve households in Guixin County, in the second year of Qingli."

"Enough!"

Xiao Su said angrily: "We are talking about the issue of arrow base, why are you reading this?"

Why did he suddenly get angry? This guy said "Northern thieves" to the left and "Northern thieves" to the right, but he knew in his heart that they were Liao soldiers, not Liao thieves.

But they couldn't admit that those were Liao soldiers.

Zhang Fei said: "What you just said is not complete. The full text of the covenant is that the two sides will use the Baigou River as the boundary and withdraw their troops at the same time. From then on, any thieves and fugitives who cross the boundary will not be allowed to stay in each other's territory. All the cities along the border of the two dynasties will As usual, no city **** can be built. I wonder?"

Xiao Su said: "Is this any different from what I said?"

"Your Excellency neglected to say that from now on, any thieves or fugitives who cross the border will not be allowed to stay with each other."

Zhang Fei said: "Although I did not participate in the Chanyuan Alliance at the time, we certainly did not expect that so many thieves would cross the border in your country. What I just read was the specific records about Guixin County. In one month, more than ten border crossings occurred in your country.

Our border defense is completely incapable of facing so many thieves crossing the border, so we just decided to build an arrow fortress to supplement the border defense's ability to prevent thieves, and it has achieved certain results. ”

As he spoke, he took out a few pieces of paper from the document and handed it to Xiao Su, "This is the record that three years ago, Guixin County handed over four thieves from your country to your country for disposal."

Xiao Su glanced at it and threw it aside, "Don't tell me this, we only know that your arrow base has violated the agreement and must be demolished."

Zhang Fei said: "In order to show that the Song Dynasty abides by its alliance, if your country insists on its request, we are also willing to dismantle these arrow barriers. But your country must also write a statement."

Xiao Su asked: "What statement?"

Zhang Fei said: "Suppose the rebels in your country cross the border and accumulate strength in our country, your country cannot accuse our country."

After Xiao Su heard this, he immediately became furious, slapping the table and angrily yelling: "If you dare to do this, you will definitely be greeted by the hundreds of thousands of iron hoofs from the Liao Dynasty."

Zhang Fei smiled slightly and said: "The Chanyuan Alliance specifically listed this sentence to prevent this, but the thieves in the north of you are in groups. This is something we did not expect. With our border defense It is difficult to cope with the manpower. What if there are rebels from your country among these thieves and they hide in our court?

We only built the arrow fortress to fulfill the agreement, and as we all know, the arrow fortress is only for defense and cannot be used for offense.

Compared with increasing garrison troops and horses, isn't this the best choice? ”

Lu Dazhong and the others could not help but look at Zhang Fei quietly from the corner of their eyes, secretly appreciating this in their hearts.

In fact, this provision was mainly aimed at thieves, and the Liao people were also worried that their soldiers would be caught by the Song people when they crossed the border, and they would have a reason to come back.

Rebels are the next best thing.

If the Song Dynasty dares to take in the rebels, it will rise to the national level. If there is any such thing, if you dare to do this, then I will definitely send troops.

But that's what diplomacy is about. Since Zhang Fei raised this point, we have to be careful. If a statement is made, the Song Dynasty can accept the Liao rebels openly.

That's okay.

Xiao Ying on the side couldn't bear it anymore and said: "Why the northerners have crossed the line? This is all just the words of you southerners."

Zhang Fei said: "We have specific records. If not, there would be no ultimatum from our court to return the thieves to your country. You can investigate this."

Xiao Su calmed down, pondered for a moment, and said: "According to your wishes, as long as we allow you to keep this arrow base, then if there are rebels who cross the border in the future, you will definitely capture them and return them to us."

Zhang Fei said with a smile: "Your Majesty, you have misunderstood me. What I mean is that our country attaches great importance to the agreement with your country, and we are very willing to dismantle the arrow base. However, we dismantle the arrow base to discourage your country." country’s doubts, rather than arousing deeper suspicion.

I hope your country can understand that our original intention of building the Arrow Barrier is to better implement our agreement and avoid greater disputes. If your country insists on letting us dismantle it, I will definitely dismantle it.

But we need to inform you of the ins and outs and hidden dangers. Only in this way can we avoid more disputes in the future by being frank and understanding each other. ”

This statement is very gentle and has a sincere tone, which makes this negotiation less explosive.

Xiao Su frowned secretly. This anti-thief issue really hit their weakness, because there has been some internal turmoil in the Liao Kingdom recently, which is not to say that it is impossible to happen.

He made eye contact with Xiao Ying for a moment, then nodded and said: "We still have to investigate this matter first."

Zhang Fei said: "Of course."

The Liao envoys were all a little depressed. They did not suppress the other party at the beginning, which was different from what they expected.

Because they expected that this coward was a coward, and he would definitely be able to suppress the opponent by holding an arrow base at the beginning, but they never thought that this coward would not be a coward at all when he sat on the table!

But Lu Dazhong and the others were more surprised that they managed to keep those arrow bases.

In their view, this is almost inevitable.

After a slight adjustment, Xiao Su added: "As for the dispute over the boundary of Hedong, our country has repeatedly mentioned it to your country, but your country has always responded passively, so that your southerners' intrusion into our country's land has become more and more serious. , this time must all be resolved, and must not be delayed any longer."

Zhang Fei looked directly at Lu Dazhong, as if asking, is this happening?

Lu Dazhong immediately argued with reason: "Whenever there is a dispute in the local area, this government never responds to you, and why does it respond negatively."

Xiao Sudao: "But you are all just perfunctory, and the problem has not been solved. Just like the land of Tianchi, it belongs to our Liao land. Our South Campus King's troops often herd sheep and horses here. Now over there All the pastures have been invaded by your southerners and turned into cultivated land. It is really a great deception."

Lu Dazhong argued: "That day pool clearly belongs to our territory of the Song Dynasty. Our dynasty has an ultimatum to prove it, and during the Qingli period, Han Qi, the prime minister of our country, once presented this ultimatum to your country."

Xiao Ying smiled and said: "Everyone in the world knows that you southerners are good at writing. Regarding the ultimatum, we have never admitted it. We will only focus on the facts in front of us.

If Tianchi belongs to your territory, then why are the herdsmen of this dynasty herding sheep and horses here and not being deported? But we are different. When we learned that you southerners were invading farming, we immediately sent a message to inform you. Including this time, isn't this enough to prove that Tianchi belongs to our territory? ”

The envoys of the Song Dynasty were extremely depressed when they heard this.

It was obviously you Liao people who invaded the border, we just endured it and didn't say anything, but now you are attacking us, it's really unreasonable and it's too much to bully others.

After all, the Song Dynasty was the weak side, so as long as the Liao Kingdom did not go too far, it would tolerate it.

Let’s talk about the matter. In Hedong and Hebei, the right time, place and people are actually on the Liao side. If we fight, we will definitely suffer losses. After all, most of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun are in the hands of the Liao State, and the Sixteenth Prefecture of Yanyun is in the north. The richest area, where the Liao Kingdom could station large-scale troops.

When Han Qi fought for land later, he did not say that he would drive out the Liao people here on a large scale. He only affirmed the sovereignty here and moved people here to avoid further occupation of the territory by them.

Lu Dazhong argued: "The reason why we didn't say anything was because we thought about the harmony between the two countries, but we didn't expect that you would go even further."

"Excessive?"

Xiao Ying sneered: "If we didn't care about the harmony between the two countries, why would we discuss it with you and not directly send troops to expel you southerners?"

The voice contains a threatening tone.

My troops are right behind.

Zhang Fei took over the words, "It seems that neither of us is willing to hurt the harmony between the two countries, which is good. This is exactly why we are sitting here. Moreover, we are here with sincerity this time. We hope to draw a very clear line and avoid any further disputes to avoid causing misunderstandings and damaging the harmony between the two countries."

After hearing this, Xiao Su smiled secretly in his heart. It seems that this guy is just a tough talker. After all, he is still very afraid of our army. He nodded and smiled: "I completely agree with what you said. We come here with sincerity this time and hope to draw a clear boundary.

We hope that the boundary can be based on the water ridges of Wei, Ying and Shuo, so as to avoid further disputes. After all, artificial boundaries can be easily changed, but no one can move these mountains and rivers! ”

Zhang Fei asked Lu Dazhong in a low voice: "What does ridge mean?"

Lu Dazhong said: "I don't even know where this ridge is, even if I'm a low-ranking official?"

Zhang Fei said: "What I'm asking is what does this word mean?"

".?"

Lv Dazhong explained: "It means a mound of earth, just like the folk use this ridge to mark the boundary between two fields. This is also often used to indicate the boundary at the border."

Zhang Fei nodded and said to Xiao Su: "As for the territory, this is a big matter and we cannot act hastily. We don't know about the soil you mentioned. Otherwise, let's go and see on the spot. What is this soil?" Where is the ridge, and then we’ll discuss it more.”

Xiao Su nodded and said: "That's very good."

That concludes today's meeting.

Back at the resting residence, Lu Dazhong immediately said to Zhang Fei: "Prosecutor Zhang, you must not agree to their request."

Zhang Fei asked: "Why?"

Lu Dazhong said: "There are clear boundaries here. Even if we suffer a little loss, we will take a step back. We have also built trenches in what they call 'disputed' areas. This was done by Mr. Han back then. They are now demanding demarcation based on watersheds and ridges. Their purpose is to destroy the previous border. There are so many mountains here, and they can take the opportunity to encroach on our territory."

Zhang Fei nodded and said: "But what they said is unclear, and it is difficult for us to refute it. Therefore, we must first know their specific demarcation plan, and then we can refute them one by one."

This is just like a lawsuit. You have to ask clearly before you can refute him. If he doesn't explain clearly, your rebuttal will be weak.

After all, this ancient boundary demarcation did not say that every plant or tree was drawn, and there were indeed a large number of Liao people here. This was actually a very sharp Liao people.

The key is that you can't drive away these Liao people.

The next step was to conduct on-the-spot investigation to see what the ridge mentioned by the Liao envoy was. As a result, the group wandered around the mountains for seven or eight days, but failed to find the so-called ridge.

This is really embarrassing.

To be honest, Zhang Fei didn't understand which song the other party was singing.

Or, they really just talk casually.

But there is a saying that goes well, as long as I am not embarrassed, if I am embarrassed, then I am someone else.

Returning to Dahuang Ping again, Xiao Su immediately changed his mind and emphasized that what he meant was to use the watershed of Wei, Ying and Shuo as the boundary.

Dirt ridge?

What ridge?

Have I ever said this?

Zhang Fei didn't bother to argue with them, but said with a serious face: "I have said before that we are here with enough sincerity. We hope to draw a clear boundary, reduce misunderstandings, and allow the two countries to stay together for eternity. The good thing is also to benefit future generations."

Xiao Su nodded immediately and said: "We are too."

“But I don’t feel the sincerity of your country at all.”

Zhang Fei said: "I have said before that the territorial issue is a big matter for both countries, but it cannot be settled by just saying a few words or drawing a drawing. It must be It is necessary to conduct an on-site investigation before making a final conclusion.

But if we use watersheds to draw it, let’s say that the border between our two countries near here has extremely complex terrain, with numerous mountains and winding rivers. It may take us a year or two just to inspect it.

This will not resolve the dispute immediately. ”

Having said this, he took out a copy and said, "This is the demarcation plan formulated by our court based on the records in the ultimatum. It has a very clear boundary demarcation. Please take a look."

"Hey!"

Xiao Su didn't even answer the question, but stretched out his hand to stop him, saying: "Since Your Excellency emphasizes sincerity, if you are not willing to wait for even one or two years, then where is the sincerity?"

Zhang Fei's hand hung in the air, paused for a moment, and then slowly took it back, thinking, do they want to drag it too? It can't be such a coincidence, right? He asked tentatively: "So you are willing to discuss this issue for a year or two?"

Xiao Su asked back: "If we can make a clear distinction in one or two years, it would be better than arguing for decades."

Zhang Fei frowned and thought for a while, "We have to consider this matter carefully."

Xiao Su said confidently: "Then let's talk about it another day."

"Yeah."

This turned out to be Da Huangping, so Lu Dazhong anxiously said to Zhang Fei, "Prosecutor Zhang, be careful of falling into a trap!"

Zhang Fei asked: "How do you say this?"

Lu Dazhong said: "These northerners obviously hope to delay the issue, rather than trying to resolve the border dispute immediately."

Zhang Fei nodded and said: "I can see this, but what do you think their purpose is? What good will it do to them if this continues?"

Police officer Lu Dazhong replied: "I think this may still be related to our army's border expansion in Xihe. If the border is agreed immediately, then they have no reason to station so many soldiers here. Now they are using this For this reason, adding more troops here will definitely increase the pressure on Taiyuan Prefecture, and we can only mobilize the Western Army from Fuzhou to defend.

This undoubtedly relieved the pressure on Xixia on the northern front, allowing them to deploy some troops and go south to prevent me from moving toward the Xihe River.

So, in my opinion, they want to delay this matter first, most likely because they want to observe our military operations against Xixia first, because the Liao Kingdom is absolutely unwilling to see us destroy Xixia.

Then, once we really send troops and the situation is very unfavorable to Xixia, they can use this border as an excuse to send troops to Hedong. In this way, they can force our country to withdraw from Xixia without completely breaking the alliance between the two countries. . ”

After all, Song and Liao had an alliance, and the alliance also included Sui coins. If the Liao Kingdom wanted to send troops, it had to find an excuse.

With this controversy, the Liao Kingdom can go to war without declaring it. As Xiao Su said, he can send troops to expel the Song people here, because judging from previous actions, the Liao Kingdom does not want to fight with the Song Dynasty. War started, but the Liao Kingdom was definitely not willing to see the Song Dynasty destroy Xixia.

By creating this controversy, the Liao Kingdom can very well influence the situation here.

Because this happens to be the junction point of the Xixia, Song and Liao Kingdoms. If the Song Dynasty goes to war in Xixia and the Liao Kingdom sends troops from here, the pressure on the Song Dynasty will be very great.

Zhang Fei nodded and said: "Your analysis makes sense. This should be their plan. So how do you think we should respond?"

Lu Dazhong thought for a while, then sighed helplessly: "If they intend to drag it on, unless we unconditionally agree to their request, we can only deal with them slowly."

Zhang Fei nodded and said: "You think the same as me, so just deal with them slowly."

He was really happy because the result was much better than he imagined, because he also wanted to delay and buy enough time for domestic development, but he did not expect that the Liao Kingdom also wanted to take advantage of this. Drag Da Song.

Judging from the current situation, the Liao Kingdom's plan is very strategically correct. If they can get involved here, it will definitely make the Song Dynasty feel very uncomfortable.

The reason why they made this judgment was mainly because of Wang Anshi's reform, because they believed that Wang Anshi's reform was preparing for war against Xixia.

I have to admit that their judgment is actually very accurate.

The final result of Wang Anshi's reform was to send troops to Xixia, and nothing else. Otherwise, he would have no reason to think of so many ways to make money for the country. He is not a person who is greedy for enjoyment. He can't make so much money for the country. It's for officials.

Wang Anshi was not that great yet.

It means fighting.

The Liao Kingdom saw this very accurately.

But the Liao people ignored one point, which was the reform of the public security system and law.

It may not be that they ignore it. They may not understand this thing at all. If it is not just a law, what else can it be?

The Song Dynasty's strict judicial system did not pose any threat to the Liao Kingdom. In comparison, Wang Anshi's reforms could make them feel a real threat.

If you enrich the country and strengthen the army, I will definitely be the victim.

Two days later, the two delegations met Da Huangping again. Zhang Fei pretended to make a last-ditch effort to persuade them to accept the Song Dynasty's plan, but Xiao Su and the others were resolute and wanted to use the watershed as the basis. divide.

In the end, Zhang Fei did not agree to this division, but said that both parties would first send some professionals to conduct on-site inspections. Every inch of land must be inspected to understand the intentions of both parties.

And this is only verbal. The two parties have not signed any agreement, nor have they promised anything verbally.

Xiao Su did not force Zhang Fei to sign any agreement, but he did mention that the status quo must be maintained before the dispute is resolved. The underlying meaning is that you cannot build more fortifications here.

The meaning is very obvious, it is to ensure that if the Liao Kingdom really wants to send troops from here in the future, it will not face too many fortifications.

It can be seen that what Lu Dazhong guessed was absolutely correct.

Zhang Fei verbally agreed, but the condition is that no more Liao people will cross the border, otherwise, they will still build fortifications.

Xiao Su readily agreed.

If I really want to send troops, if you try to repair it, it will be too late.