"You, the Song Dynasty, want to send troops to the Liao Dynasty again, and you want me to send troops to the Western Dynasty. This..." Xi Fengchang stared at Sun Tu and couldn't believe his ears.
Just when he was about to leave to return to Xixia, Sun Tu unexpectedly found him again, and added such a shocking requirement to the many harsh conditions. It had only been quiet for a few years, but the Song Dynasty actually wanted to use troops against the Liao Dynasty again. Didn't his court just have troubles, so weren't they afraid of resorting to force and injuring themselves
Sun Tu looked at the other party indifferently: "Is there anything wrong with this? Since you Xixia are willing to respect us as the master of the Song Dynasty, our enemies are your enemies. It is not natural to send troops to assist and attack the Liao Kingdom together. Something?"
Xi Fengchang hesitated for a while, but he really couldn't say that there was anything wrong with Sun Tu's words. After all, as a vassal state, when the overlord gives an order, you really can't refuse, otherwise they might turn around and beat you. Even the reasons are ready and legitimate. of. But even so, he still advised: "But the Song Dynasty just fought a war two years ago and took back the entire territory of the Sixteen Youyun Prefectures that it cherished so much. There is really no reason to use troops against the Liao Dynasty again. What's more, there were still people in Bianjing City before. With the emergence of such rebellion, shouldn’t we choose to rest with the people and stabilize the current political situation?”
"The situation in the court is never stabilized, but defeated." Sun Tu immediately retorted: "Only by completely conquering the Liao Kingdom can the world know how powerful I, Sun Tu, am compared to those guys who only knew how to talk. Different. As for the Liao issue, we, the Song Dynasty, have always had a deep hatred for the Liao country. Even though we have recaptured the Sixteenth Province of Youyun, it does not mean that the original hatred has ended. On the contrary, the war two years ago It has pushed the Song and Liao countries into a position of unending confrontation, and now their country has just experienced war and great changes. It is the weakest time. If we don't take action now, when will we wait?"
Sun Tu's words had actually been made the day before yesterday when he made up his mind and raised it in court. Originally, Tong Mu and others were worried about this decision, but after he listed this series of reasons, the people in the court and others accepted the decision to make another northern expedition!
Yes, the current Liao Kingdom suffered heavy casualties due to the civil war between Yelu Dashi and Yelu Yanxi. The city was broken and the vitality was severely damaged. On the other hand, the Song Dynasty is prosperous, and Youzhou and other places in the north have been vigorously deploying troops for two years. At this time, if there are too many troops, I dare not say, but there is still a 70% to 80% chance of victory.
What's more important is that after Li Gang, Song Jiang and other officials were confiscated and exterminated, the imperial court suddenly had millions more money, which just made up for the last shortcomings in sending troops. That's why Sun Tu dared to mention the Northern Expedition again, vowing to take advantage of his illness to kill him and completely destroy the Liao Kingdom!
Even Tong Mu and other officials of the Song Dynasty were convinced by Sun Tu. It was naturally impossible for a Xixia envoy like Xi Fengchang to oppose Sun Tu's decision. After struggling for a while, he finally nodded and agreed: "I will also report this matter to the court, but in the end, it is up to His Majesty to decide."
"It's the country's leader." Sun Tu suddenly reminded him, which made Xi Fengchang feel awkward again, but he still nodded: "Yes, it will be decided by my country's leader."
Sun Tu just smiled, but then stared at the other person and said: "But there is one thing you must remember to pass on. If you Xixia is receiving
In the upcoming battle between Song and Liao, both sides remain neutral. If you try to profit from it, we, the Song Dynasty, will use our troops against you as soon as possible. I think you have seen the power of the most commonly used bullets in the Song Dynasty, but I don't know if your elite soldiers of Tie Yaozi and Bubazi can block such firearms with their flesh and blood. "
"I...I remembered it." Xi Fengchang felt a chill in his heart when he thought of what he saw with his own eyes that day, when a large section of the city wall collapsed with a loud bang. If the Song army really used such weapons on the battlefield with its own troops and horses, I am afraid that the number of casualties of the Western Dynasty army would increase more than ten times than before. Coupled with the current shortage of domestic resources in the Western Dynasty, I am afraid that the country is not far away from being destroyed.
Therefore, even if Sun Tu's threat was so direct, he could only accept it, and would do his best to persuade his emperor, the king, to cooperate with the Song Dynasty in using troops after returning to the country.
"That's good. As the saying goes, those who know the current affairs are heroes. I just hope that your Dangxiang clan will choose a smart person to be your king. Otherwise..." Only then did Sun Tu get up with satisfaction, but when he arrived in front of the door, Then he suddenly said: "Because I have to use troops against the Liao Kingdom, I will be very busy in the next period of time, so I won't see you off when you set off. In addition, please give my regards to Master Jiesang and tell him about the journey to the west." The people of this land are indispensable for the Buddhism he promotes, so don’t slack off.”
It wasn't until a while after Sun Tu left that Xi Fengchang let out a long breath and felt the pressure on his body suddenly disappear. When he met Sun Tu again this time, he felt that this old friend from the past was becoming more and more unfamiliar, and the pressure on him was also increasing. This made him sigh again, he really shouldn't be the envoy to the Song Dynasty. Returning to Xing After leaving Qingfu, I didn’t know how to explain to my father and His Majesty.
Because he was worried that Sun Tu would suddenly make more demanding demands, Xi Fengchang did not dare to stay in Tokyo for a long time. Early the next morning, he went to the court and set off immediately after receiving permission.
And when he left, Sun Tu did what he said, and did not come to see them off. He only sent officials from Honglu Temple to send them out of Tokyo on behalf of the court. At this moment, Sun Tu was devoted to mobilizing troops and generals and formulating the overall strategy for the Northern Expedition.
Because the chaos in the DPRK had just calmed down, and the Liao Kingdom was now much different and weaker than before, Sun Tu finally accepted Tong Mu's persuasion and did not rush north to lead the troops in person. The military power was handed over to generals Zhong Shidao and Dong Pingping.
Although Sun Tu was not used to this, he had to accept it and try to get used to it. Because his current identity is very different from before. In a sense, he is the real master of this country. He is not the emperor but is better than the emperor. As a result, Sun Tu could no longer always rush to the front line of the battlefield as before. What he should do most was to stay in the capital and guard the country.
Of course, just because he no longer easily goes to the front line does not mean that Sun Tu has nothing to do with the war. On the contrary, with the change of status, when the war resumed, his responsibilities became heavier and his affairs became busier. Because he has to consider the overall situation and provide a more reliable and sufficient rear for the frontline soldiers, whether it is the supply of food and fodder for the soldiers or the supplement of other logistics, so
Everything rests on the shoulders of Sun Tu, the man in power.
In the past, when Sun Tu led his troops to the front line, he would not have considered how trivial and complicated these logistical matters were. But today, when he actually took over, he realized that it was really complicated and difficult.
After all, this is a major battle to conquer a country. The resources required are a huge number, and the entire Song Dynasty needs to be mobilized to satisfy it. The details and overall arrangements involved are beyond ordinary troop formations. Or it would be much more difficult to lead troops to charge.
Even though the Song Dynasty court had been preparing for this battle for two years, it still needed to obtain enough money, food and other materials from the local area. If Cai Jing and others are to do these things, they will naturally not find it too difficult, because they will not care about the life and death of the people at all. It does not matter if the food in the local government warehouse is emptied out. If it is not enough, it will be aggravated. Just taxes.
But Sun Tu couldn't do this. Wasn't the purpose of sending troops to the north to make the lives of the people of the Song Dynasty easier? How could he sacrifice the good and the weak? Therefore, even if grain and grass from various places are mobilized, part of the urgently needed grain must be left for the official warehouse, and then money and grain will be drawn northward according to the rich and poor in each place.
But even so, coupled with the money and food that had been taken away from the prisoners early in the morning, it was still not enough to fill the gold-swallowing behemoth composed of dozens of troops. For this reason, the treasury was almost emptied by Sun Tu.
"It is said that the country was richer in the Song Dynasty than in the Han and Tang Dynasties. It was far away from the Ming and Qing Dynasties, but why can't I see it at all?" Sun Tu whispered again after looking at the documents sent by the Ministry of Revenue transfer envoy and other Yamen in his hand. got up.
Tong Mu beside him didn't quite hear what he said, but he still understood the confusion in his heart, so he smiled bitterly and said: "The wealth of the country does not mean that the court is also rich. What's more, as early as two years ago, after several wars, the court had been All the money and food saved have been spent, and it’s only been two years, so of course it can’t be completely filled up.”
Sun Tu nodded to express his understanding, but at the same time he felt a headache. According to his understanding, others can make money by winning battles. How come he loses money when he wins? For example, after the Sixteenth Province of Youyun was conquered, they had to reach out to the court almost every year for two or three years to ask for money and food in order to raise horses and soldiers. And when it came time to send out troops, it was even more necessary for the whole country to provide food and money... Perhaps this was one of the important reasons why the Song Dynasty did not dare to start a war lightly in the past few decades. In addition to being afraid of not being able to defeat it, it was just too expensive.
Fortunately, Tong Mu's last sentence gave him some confidence: "On the other hand, among the people, because of the prosperous business and the recent reduction of taxes, there is really a lot more money and food. This is the real national wealth." .”
Sun Tu also laughed when he heard this: "Yes, isn't this exactly what you and I want to see? Only when the people are rich can the entire country be strong. But now, because time has not yet reached the last step, and I Now there is an urgent need for wealth from this area, so I plan to..."
"Lieutenant, please don't go back to the old ways of extorting people and plundering people's wealth." Tong Mu reminded with some urgency.
Sun Tu shook his head: "How could I do such a thing? I just plan to borrow it in the name of the imperial court."