Judge of the Song Dynasty Chapter 804: It is up to the president of the court to take action

It is undeniable that the party members are very fierce, not the five scum, but in terms of national strength, Xixia is definitely not as good as the Song Dynasty, and so far, it has only been limited to the civil strife in Xixia, and neither Song nor Xixia has yet Declaring war, one thing is going down, the other is going up. Where did the Empress Dowager Liang get the confidence?

Don’t think about it, it must be the Liao Kingdom.

Based on Li Bingchang’s policy slogans, the Liao Kingdom must support the Empress Dowager Liang. He cannot allow Xixia and the Song Dynasty to get too close, especially now that the Song Dynasty’s national power is booming, and the emperor sitting on it is also the same as the previous Renzong and Zhang Zhenzong. It's a big difference, so at this moment, the Liao Kingdom needs Xixia even more to contain the Song Dynasty.

In fact, Empress Dowager Liang was very politically savvy. She was not stupid. She knew what the consequences would be if she did this, but she could only do it this way. At the same time, she knew she could use this to win over the Liao Kingdom.

If Li Bingchang is allowed to take charge, Song and Xia will become a family, and no one will help you contain the Song Dynasty.

So the Liao Kingdom also spent money to support the Empress Dowager Liang and transported a large amount of grain and grass to Xixia from the north.

Of course, the Liao Kingdom also knew clearly that transporting grain and grass alone was not a long-term solution. The key was that they could not take advantage, and they could only transfuse blood to Xixia. The trade-off was to weaken both parties and then ensure their own Due to the situation of dominance, the Liao Kingdom had already divided its interests in Hedong.

As long as the Song Dynasty takes advantage of Xixia, then I will definitely take advantage of you, and at the same time make you lose your wife and troops.

The Liao Kingdom has always had the Song Dynasty under control, and it can even be said that it has the Song Dynasty under control. In fact, before the Security Department of the Song Dynasty appeared, even if it was a spy war, the Song Dynasty was not owned by the Liao Kingdom. opponent.

But this time the Song Army's movements were also beyond the Liao Kingdom's surprise. There has been no declaration of war so far, and there are no signs of a large-scale attack. However, the Liao Kingdom still learned that the main force of the Song Army had entered Xixia territory, and was still It was learned that the main force on the northern front of Xixia was defeated by the Song army in Wudingchuan.

The situation is precarious.

So the Liao Kingdom finally couldn't hold it any longer, and first issued a notice to Shen Kuo, accusing them of the Song Dynasty's deliberate delay and lack of sincerity in negotiations. We had lost patience, and the border to Hedong was decided.

Immediately, 5,000 advance troops were sent to the disputed area, but there were 70,000 to 80,000 troops stationed on the border. It can be seen that the Liao Kingdom was also very cautious, and they did not seem to create an atmosphere of invasion. This still fell within the scope of diplomacy.

The Liao soldiers only entered the disputed area and did not mention burning, killing or looting, but they did not encounter any obstruction.

Because this place has been a no-man's land for a long time. The Song Dynasty was afraid that its people would go to farm next door if they were not careful. It was also afraid that the Liao Kingdom would find an excuse to attack the Song Dynasty or engage in extortion. Or was Han Qi here later? Some forts were built, but they were symbolic and had no combat effectiveness at all.

After the Liao soldiers arrived, the Song troops stationed here withdrew directly. They only stayed here symbolically.

The Han people living here can only withdraw from this place.

Even so, Taiyuan and Fuzhou still felt huge pressure. Fortunately, Wang Shao stopped and continued to attack. Otherwise, it would have been really dangerous.

The Song army guarding Taiyuan quickly launched an active defense.

The news soon spread to Bianjing.

Although everyone had been prepared in their hearts, when the Liao Kingdom actually took this step, the natural fear of the Liao Kingdom still emerged in their hearts.

Everyone inside and outside the court was shocked and frightened.

Do you really want to fight?

But some ministers are very angry about this, and this is the case all the time. As long as our army takes action against Xixia, the Liao Kingdom will definitely not be absent.

You are a villain.

It is impossible to cede territory.

Even if someone wants to cut off, they dare not say so. Wen Yanbo and the others are still afraid that Zhao Xu will compromise again.

After learning about this, these prime ministers hurriedly entered the palace with a firm attitude, never compromised, and never recognized the territory demarcated by the Liao Kingdom.

What can I do if I don’t admit it?

Hit?

No one has this idea, including Wen Yanbo himself.

Because in that disputed area, the power of the Song Dynasty was almost zero.

One thing to say is that even if they send troops to fight, they can't defeat them. Moreover, part of the main force of the Western Army is still in Xixia, and thanks to Emperor Tuo'er, the Liao Kingdom has an absolute geographical advantage along the entire border, allowing it to advance and retreat freely. .

Besides, they still have war horses, but currently firearms cannot dominate the battlefield.

The only way the Song Dynasty could counterattack was to rely on diplomatic channels. To be more precise, it used Sui coins and market to put pressure on the Liao Kingdom.

The point they discussed was the Chanyuan Alliance.

Because the Sui coins and the Ganchang are both part of the Chanyuan Alliance, but in fact, the Chanyuan Alliance did not clearly stipulate the boundary to the east of Hedong, only the Xiongzhou side.

When you bring up the Sui coins and the market, it is equivalent to tying the Hedong boundary to the Chanyuan Alliance.

Some ministers believe that doing so will leave them with no way out.

Because you don’t give Sui coins and don’t open the sales market, the Liao Kingdom will definitely go to war. The Liao State is so cautious now because it is worried that the Song Dynasty will close the sales market and not give the Sui coins.

So after you proposed the Sui coins and discussed the situation, if the Liao Kingdom still refused to withdraw, would you give the Sui coins or not?

It will put you in a dilemma. After all, you have not yet made up your mind to go to war with the Liao Kingdom.

They hope to calculate it separately. It is impossible to cede territory. They must exert pressure through diplomacy, but they cannot use the Chanyuan Alliance to make trouble.

Of course, they didn't know that Shen Kuo had already used the New Year coins to put pressure on them.

But Wen Yanbo believes that if you don’t take the coins and the market, why should the Liao Kingdom pay attention to you? This is tantamount to acknowledging that they occupy our territory, and the Liao Kingdom is very likely to make further progress, unless our army starts from Xixia Exit.

The two factions also debated fiercely on this point of view.

Zhao Xu has always been relatively silent. Although he did not appear to be very weak, he was not too tough either.

Royal Palace.

"Actually, the current situation cannot be considered very bad. At least the Liao Kingdom did not directly send a large army to invade. It can be seen that the Liao Kingdom is also wary. The only solution now is to protest through diplomacy and resolutely refuse to admit that The boundaries can be delayed day by day."

Zhang Fei still saw Zhao Xu's worry, so he comforted him.

The worst case scenario is that the Liao Kingdom directly sends troops.

"I know it too."

Zhao Xu nodded and said: "But the question now is, should this matter be included in the Chanyuan Alliance?"

Zhang Fei was silent for a while and said: "I think your Majesty should be prepared to break with the Liao Kingdom."

Hearing this, Zhao Xu couldn't help but frown.

Zhang Fei added: "Because we mentioned the Sui coins before, the Liao Kingdom only sent five thousand soldiers and horses to garrison. They must also be testing and giving Xixia a guarantee.

If we don't mention the Chanyuan Alliance, the Liao Kingdom will definitely think that we are bluffing before and dare not break with it, but our Xixia plan cannot be given up.

The Liao Kingdom will definitely make further progress. Then they will find new problems, and then continue to invade our territory, or ask for more Sui coins.

The Liao Kingdom will also be wary of our stronger performance. Although it is impossible for them to withdraw from the Hedong border, they may be able to buy us some time. At the same time, we are still collecting Yelu Yixin. The incriminating evidence may be able to help us at a critical moment. ”

Although the two have discussed this issue no less than 180 times, when it comes to making a decision, Zhao Xu still seems very hesitant, "We are currently deploying troops in Xixia. Although we have not sent all the main force, there are still 100,000 Many ministers in the DPRK still believe that fighting on two fronts is too risky. In addition, after so many years of peace on the border, the people of Liao are tired of war, and our people are also tired of war."

Zhang Fei also saw that Zhao Xu was still a little uneasy about breaking with the Liao Kingdom. After all, the Chanyuan Alliance had been in existence for nearly eighty years, and it actually involved the interests of many people, whether it was the Song Dynasty or the Song Dynasty. , or for the Liao Kingdom, if they really break up, it would be fine if they win, but if they lose, it may shake his dominance, and there is really no guarantee that he can defeat the Liao Kingdom.

The key point is that the Liao Kingdom is also a thief. They have been paving the way for this matter for a long time. We determined the border through diplomacy. We have been talking for two or three years. It shows that we do not want to break with the Song Dynasty. It’s just that you, the Song Dynasty, deliberately delayed, and you were at fault first.

After thinking for a while, Zhang Fei suddenly said: "Why don't you let me do this?"

Zhao Xu was startled and said in shock: "Are you coming?"

Zhang Fei nodded and said: "Your Majesty still chooses a safer way in diplomacy, while domestically, through the lawsuits of the people, the Supreme Court will judge the other party for breach of contract."

Zhao Xu was shocked when he heard this, "How can this be done?"

Zhang Fei said: "I can only judge that the other party violated the contract and ask the other party to compensate our people, instead of tearing up the contract. The imperial court does not have this power. This must be decided by your Majesty yourself."

Zhao Xu was a little confused when he heard this, "Can you still ask the Northern Dynasty to compensate our people?"

"Of course not."

Zhang Fei said: "But after the imperial court's judgment, if your Majesty decides to break with the Liao Kingdom, you will have to defend the interests of your own people. This is in line with the concept of the rule of law, and it is also what your Majesty should do. In this way, It can reduce the pressure on His Majesty, and His Majesty can take more initiative, and then assess the situation, and our Imperial Court will also cooperate with His Majesty's strategy."

Zhao Xu's eyes lit up, no matter whether it was used at this time or not, this was really a solution.

Now that he wants to break with the Liao Kingdom, the opposition must think that you are ignoring the safety of the people, but when the matter turns around in the imperial court, it becomes defending the rights and interests of the people.

Zhao Xu asked again: "So you think it's time to break with the Northern Dynasty."

Zhang Fei nodded and said: "I believe that the Liao Kingdom's move is a test. If we are guilty, they will definitely intensify their efforts until we withdraw from Xixia. In that case, it will be the same as before, losing both our wives and our troops.

Besides, we can’t just think that the Liao Kingdom is provoking a war. We originally planned to break up with the Liao Kingdom. We can also use this matter to tear up the Chanyuan Alliance. After all, His Majesty just now I have also said that the people of the Song Dynasty also cherish peace very much. When the time comes, we will have to find another reason to go to war with the Liao Kingdom and recover the sixteen states of Yanyun.

Now the situation in the Liao Kingdom is also very delicate, and we have gained another year, enough to establish defenses in Hebei. The timing is not bad for us. ”

Zhao Xu nodded slightly, and after weighing it, "Okay, I'll do what you say."

After Zhang Fei left, Empress Dowager Gao suddenly sent someone to invite Zhao Xu.

When mother and son met, Empress Dowager Gao got straight to the point and said: "Guan family, I heard that my uncle disobeyed military orders on the front line. Is this possible?"

Zhao Xu was stunned for a moment and said: "When I returned to my mother, I heard about this, but Dan'er thought it might be a misunderstanding. The old general sent troops from Qingzhou and defeated the enemy along the way, winning consecutive battles and victories."

Empress Dowager Gao waved her hands and said: "This is not a misunderstanding. I know my uncle's character very well. Although he is loyal to the Song Dynasty, he is too petty and jealous of talents, especially military achievements. Obsessed.

The officials should not care about my face. They can deal with it as they should. It is best to remove him so as not to spoil the matter. ”

Zhao Xu nodded and said, "Yes, I understand."

Seeing that the emperor agreed so casually, Empress Dowager Gao still felt uneasy, "Remember, at this critical moment, don't let him lead the army again."

Zhao Xu immediately said: "Don't worry, Queen Mother, this matter has been transferred to the Military Imperial Court and will be heard there."

Empress Dowager Gao nodded.

She knew what happened to Gao Zunyu, but she was very supportive of Wang Shao. After all, there was still a Liao Kingdom here. The deeper we went, the emptier the rear. She was really afraid that Gao Zunyu would do whatever he wanted because of his status. .

The current situation can really affect the whole body.

In the end, Zhao Xu chose a safe approach and sent Han Wei to the Liao Kingdom to go to Beijing to negotiate with the Liao Kingdom about the Liao Kingdom sending troops into the Hedong boundary, but did not mention the Chanyuan Alliance.

This decision made most people breathe a sigh of relief.

Although they shouted fiercely, they were actually unwilling to go to war with the Liao Kingdom. After all, there were not many Song people in those areas.

Including Han Qi, Fu Bi, Sima Guang, and Wang Anshi, they all believed that fighting on two fronts should be avoided as much as possible. At the same time, Hebei's defense still needed time to build, and they could not break up with the Liao Kingdom at this time.

At the same time, Xixia also received news that the Liao Kingdom had sent troops to Hedong. Empress Dowager Liang was overjoyed. Both she and her brother Liang Yimi believed that the balance of victory had tipped in their favor.

The Song Dynasty was led by literati. Faced with a huge advantage, it stopped moving forward. This is not a fool.

The morale of the Song army must be very low.

At the same time, the Liao Kingdom's march to Hedong will inevitably make it difficult for the main force of the Western Army to take care of the head and tail, and dare not use all its strength.

So they sent an army of 200,000 troops, divided into three groups, to attack Lanzhou on the south line, Yanzhou on the middle line, and Xiazhou on the north line.

But the result was beyond their expectations.

None of the three armies made any achievements.

What they didn't expect was that the morale of the Song army was even higher than theirs. When they fought, they were more determined than the Dangxiang people.

This couldn't help but make Empress Dowager Liang shocked.

In history, Emperor Shenzong of the Song Dynasty made a five-pronged expedition against Xia. The party members fought with their backs against the odds, while the Song army went deep alone, so it ended in a disastrous defeat. But this time it was very different.

First of all, the Song Dynasty did not declare war. The generals entered as merchants, nominally protecting trade routes and protecting the overall interests of the local people.

Secondly, after these two months, the interests of the occupied areas were properly arranged. A large amount of green salt entered the territory of the Song Dynasty, bringing a lot of livelihood to the local people, and everyone benefited from this.

Therefore, the soldiers and civilians of the Song Army are united. We are not fighting for others, we are fighting for ourselves.

The Dangxiang soldiers are just to protect the power of Empress Dowager Liang, not to fight in a life-and-death situation.

In addition, the Song army has been building fortresses according to the terrain and has completely given up attacking.

The time, place and people are all on the Song Army's side.

The two armies fought hard for several times, but the party members saw no chance of a breakthrough at all. On the contrary, the logistics were somewhat stretched.

As for the Song Army, since it was only a small step forward, the logistical pressure was not very great.

And it’s not just the Western Army that has trouble keeping track of the beginning and the end, the Xixia Army is also in trouble, because the Tubo tribe in the west is also fighting with the Xixia Army in Ganzhou.

After this battle, the generals of the Song Army fully understood Wang Shao's intentions. We only need to defend well. Xixia is just a trapped beast still fighting, because the Empress Dowager Liang has to fight even if she doesn't fight. So why not wait for work and at the same time still fight? It can take into account the possible southward movement of the Liao army.

The generals from all walks of life also calmed down and continued to build forts, strengthen defenses, and at the same time develop firearm tactics. More and more firearms were sent to the border.

However, the good news in the northwest did not bring more surprises to the capital. As the saying goes, if you gain something, you will lose something.

Han Wei went on an envoy to the Liao Kingdom again. He was originally going to Beijing to negotiate with the Liao Emperor. However, when he arrived in Nanjing, that is, Youzhou, he was stopped by the special envoy sent by the Liao Emperor.

Our emperor is busy hunting and has no time to talk to you. Let’s talk here in Youzhou.

As soon as they came to the negotiating table, before Han Wei even opened his mouth, he was criticized by the Liao envoys. They believed that the Song Dynasty had no sincerity in the Hedong negotiations and was just delaying and playing word games.

And who can play this word game better than you, Song Dynasty? Aren’t you bullying others?

For the sake of the century-old friendship between the two countries, we have decided the border of Hedong so that there will be no misunderstanding.

Han Wei was also aggrieved. He could not speak against the Chanyuan Alliance. He could only reason and present evidence. But the evidence had not been produced yet. The Liao State directly concluded that the Song Dynasty was playing word games.

I don't listen.

I can’t read either.

Why should we, the Liao Kingdom, recognize the records of your Song people?

Han Wei could only moan helplessly there. We refused to admit it, but his tone was very weak, as if he was being suppressed by his blood.

When news of this situation reached Bianliang, Tokyo, everyone still had the time to celebrate the victory of the Northwest Front.

There was silence throughout the ruling and opposition parties.

In fact, everyone expected this to be the case. In other words, they just acquiesced to this situation and didn't admit it, that's all.

Failed to defeat them again and again, they did not dare to use the only countermeasure they had easily.

Admit it!

That’s what it means.

However, at this moment, a class action lawsuit broke the atmosphere of silence.

It turned out that the people who had been driven out from Hedong suddenly appeared in the capital and filed an appeal through the Legal Aid Office, suing the Liao Kingdom for occupying their land.

Everyone in the government and the public were dumbfounded.

How did these people come to the capital?

Are they crazy?

The Liao Kingdom has seized your land, and you come to the imperial court to appeal for help. Can our imperial court help you get the land from the Liao Kingdom?

This is not public prosecutorial law, this is superstitious!

Stop talking about them, Zhao Pian was also dumbfounded.

Grass!

How to judge this?

If Liao people commit crimes within the country, this can be tried, and everyone has experience, but this is diplomacy, this is a national event, and the other party is a serious Liao army.

I have made a judgment, can anything be changed?

It’s not that Zhao Bian doesn’t dare, it’s that he doesn’t know how to interrogate.

So, he first went to find Fu Bi and Sima Guang.

As a result, the two people also looked at each other.

I don’t know what to do.

This is the first time that the Public Security Bureau has encountered this situation, and this situation would never have happened before.

At this time, resistance from the DPRK and China came, explicitly and covertly asking Zhao Pian to reject it. You can't mess around with this. Han Wei is still negotiating in Youzhou, so don't make it self-defeating.

Although Zhao Bian is an iron-faced censor, after all, this is a national matter, and he does not dare to act recklessly.

At this moment, Wen Yanbo suddenly came quietly to the door.

"Mr. Zhao, please reject it first."

"But.?"

Zhao Bian asked: "Then what is the reason for rejecting it?"

Wen Yanbo said: "Just find any reason and say that the imperial court is solving these problems through diplomacy."

Hearing the hidden meaning in his words, Zhao Pian couldn't help but asked: "I hope Mr. Wen will say it clearly."

Wen Yanbo smiled and said: "If no one helps, can these Hedong people appear in the capital quietly?"

"I also thought of this." Zhao Bian said: "I thought..."

He thought it was Wen Yanbo who caused it, because Wen Yanbo insisted on negotiating with the Liao Kingdom through the Chanyuan Alliance.

"Not my doing."

Wen Yanbo said: "But since it's not me, it must be him."

Zhao Bian said: "President of the court?"

Wen Yanbo nodded, "It must be him."

Zhao Bian said: "Why is Duke Wen so sure?"

Wen Yanbo smiled and said: "It's very simple, because I can't think of asking those people to come to the imperial court to appeal. Has Mr. Zhao ever thought of this strategy before?"

Zhao Bian suddenly woke up from a dream.

It's not that they didn't think of it, but they thought it was impossible and unreasonable. The imperial court couldn't hear such a case.

Having said that, they couldn’t imagine how those ordinary people could think of appealing through the public prosecutor’s office and so quickly.

Only Zhang Fei in the world can think of such a method, and only he can handle such cases.

There is no doubt that it was Zhang San who was responsible.

Wen Yanbo added: "But this matter is of great importance. I don't know what kind of medicine is sold in Zhang San Gourd for the time being. It's not appropriate to make it public now. Mr. Zhao only needs to dismiss the case, and then the people will appeal. When we arrive at the Supreme Court, I guess Zhang San is already waiting for us. Let’s see how he plans to deal with it.”

Zhao Peng nodded and said, "Thank you, Mr. Wen, for your advice. I know what to do."

After receiving Wen Yanbo's advice, Zhao Peng dismissed the lawsuit from the common people on the grounds that the matter was within the scope of diplomacy and could not be made by the imperial court.

All the ministers in the DPRK let out a sigh of relief.

However, they seemed to have forgotten the existence of Zhang Fei, because during this period, Zhang Fei kept a very low profile and kept his identity as the president of the court. He did not make any comments on the matter or participate in the discussion of these political affairs. Discuss privately with Zhao Xu.

No one expected that those common people would backhand with a super double and directly appeal to the Supreme Court.

? ? ?

The ministers suddenly woke up, oh, there is a chief judge above.

This...

As we all know, the president of the court is not the same person as them, and there is quite a grudge between the two parties. If he rashly intervenes, he might be accused of interfering with justice by Zhang Fei.

At present, no one knows what Zhang Fei’s position is because he has never spoken out.

The key is, this guy often doesn't play according to the routine.

This is really scary!