In the first year of Xuanhe in the Song Dynasty and the ninth year of Tianqing in the Liao Dynasty, on May 18th, the Song delegation finally arrived at Nanjing City of the Liao Kingdom.
Looking up at this ancient city, Sun Tu felt more emotion than anyone else accompanying him, because he was thinking not only of the past, but also of the next thousand years.
Who could have imagined that this ancient city, which is now full of regret and shame in the eyes of the Han people, would become the center of the world hundreds of years later. Even a thousand years later, the city that has been renamed Beijing will still be the most amazing city in the world. How about one of several cities
Of course, for others, the city in front of them, where many Liao officials were waiting outside, was still a thorn in the side of the Song people. It was a strategic location that all Song officials and even the people hoped to take back as soon as possible.
Yes, it is a strategically important place. As an ancient city that has stood on the northern land since the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, or even earlier, it has had too many names: Yandu, Yanjing, Youzhou... But what remains unchanged is that it is in The Northern Land occupies an important position. No matter which force wants to control the Northern Land, it must take it into its possession first. From this, battles begin here, and heroic stories unfold. This is staged.
But who would have thought that during the turmoil more than a hundred years ago, a guy named Shi Jingtang would cede all the large land including Youzhou City to them in order to get assistance from the Khitans. As a result, the Central Plains Dynasty completely lost the most powerful barrier in the north, and also lost a large area of land that could be used to raise horses for self-reliance. This made the Song Dynasty, which was founded after the founding of the country, in an extremely passive position militarily.
It can be said that if it hadn't been for Shi Jingtang's move, the Song Dynasty would have been much stronger than it is now, and destroying the Liao Kingdom and swallowing up Xixia might not be just a slogan and a fantasy. Because of this, no matter at that time or in later generations, many Han men regarded Shi Jingtang as the biggest cancer and the biggest traitor in history, and wished they could eat his flesh and sleep on his skin.
But in fact, although their hatred is good, it still has some omissions. For example, Shi Jingtang cannot be considered a traitor at all, because he is not a Han at all, but only a Shatuo person; and what is even more interesting is that most of the so-called Youyun Sixteen States that he ceded at that time were actually not even under his control. The so-called ceding of land is nothing more than generosity to others, a real waste of money.
Of course, his fault remains irreparable. Because it was his recognition that the Liao people could justifiably occupy the entire Sixteen Youyun Prefectures, making the Han family's Youzhou become today's Liao Nanjing and Xijin Prefecture.
Slowly arriving in front of the city gate, and looking up at the words "Xijin Mansion" carved on the stone above, Sun Tu's cheeks couldn't help but twitch. At the same time, he secretly swore in his heart that one day, he would take the son of the Han family with him. Seize this city from the Khitans!
At this time, a group of officials from the Liao Kingdom on the opposite side had already come forward with hearty laughter. The leader was none other than an old acquaintance, Chen Xiangnan. While smiling, he clasped his fists at Tong Guan, who was also smiling: " Privy Tong's mission to Daliao this time is beyond our expectations. He is truly a rare visitor. I am here to welcome you on behalf of many officials from our Southern Academy. I hope Privy Tong will not take offense."
"Easy to say
It's easy to say that I have been staying in Bianjing City and my body is almost rusty, so I asked the official for this job to come to Daliao for a walk. It can be regarded as a first step to know the way. "Tong Guan said with a meaningful chuckle.
The other officials around him didn't really listen to this at first. It wasn't until some southern officials gave some pointers that their expressions changed and they snorted coldly. If it weren't for them to fall out at this moment, they would have taught Tong Guan a lesson for daring to come to their own land and be so arrogant.
Chen Xiangnan also changed his color for a while, but soon he still smiled and said: "Privy Tong is joking. If you want to say that, I have been to Bianjing of the Song Dynasty before I went to the official position." In one sentence, he gave a lot of information. His retaliation also made the others less angry, and they stared at Tong Guan and Sun Tu and others beside him with some provocation.
Tong Guan didn't pay much attention to this. He just smiled and followed the waiting Liao officials into Youzhou City. Sun Tu followed the team, and from time to time he glanced at the people passing by in the city. He found that the clothes of the Han people here were not much different from those in the Song Dynasty, and the eyes they looked at his team were full of indifference and hostility. Just like the Han people from the Liao Kingdom who came along the way, they had already regarded themselves as the people of the Liao Kingdom, and their identity as Han people had been forgotten.
In addition, since this Youzhou is Nanjing in the Liao Kingdom, it is indeed much more prosperous and lively than the many towns we have passed before. Along the way, there is an endless stream of pedestrians on the streets, and there are still various shops open on both sides of the streets, including those selling furs. Those who sell horses also sell various goods in the Song Dynasty, such as tea, porcelain and other goods. Although this city is not as prosperous as Bianjing, it is far more than Jiangzhou, Jezhou and other places.
The Liao people have been able to stay in Youzhou for many years, and they obviously have their own way of governing the place. Even if they are not as good as the Han Dynasty, they can still make the people of the city live and work in peace and contentment.
In the front, Chen Xiangnan was proudly introducing the customs and customs of Youzhou City to Tong Guan. At the same time, he also brought up the prosperity of the military and armor here. The meaning behind his words was very obvious, that is, you, a Song Dynasty man. If you try to attack Nanjing again, you will lose all your teeth.
In some strange emotions, everyone came to a large hotel that covered an extremely wide area and could accommodate thousands of people. Chen Xiangnan smiled at this time and said: "Privy Tong, this is the residence that my king has arranged for you. All food and drink expenses have been arranged. There are hundreds of servants prepared inside. As long as you give orders, they will do it." I'll do as you're told. I still have things to do, so I'll take my leave for now."
"Wait a moment, Minister Chen. I am here to meet the Emperor of Liao on behalf of the Emperor of the Song Dynasty, but I don't know when you can arrange this? Also, since I arrived in Nanjing, I always have to meet someone. I want to meet the king of your southern courtyard, I don’t know..." Tong Guan was not busy saying goodbye to him, and immediately made his request.
"This... our emperor is far away in Linhuang Mansion, so it would be difficult to see him. As for my king, he just left the city recently due to some government affairs, but I think he will summon Privy Councilor Tong in a few days. You first Please wait here for a few days." Chen Xiangnan gave the answer with some embarrassment, then formally said goodbye and left.
Tong Guan didn't say anything more this time. He just watched him leave with a playful smile on his face. This was natural.
It didn't escape Sun Tu's eyes.
When they entered the hotel and the people below began to settle everything, Sun Tu curiously asked Tong Guan about Chen Xiangnan's reaction just now. Seeing this, Tong Guan smiled and said: "The reason why he is like this is because he feels a little embarrassed to talk about it. You don't know that the current Emperor Yelu Yanxi of the Liao Kingdom is a restless master. What he loves most is to be straightforward. He led his own troops to hunt everywhere and hunt in all directions. Not to mention the officials of the Liao Kingdom here in Youzhou, even those important officials in the court who went to Beijing would have to spend a lot of time to find their emperor. So when I asked He will only feel embarrassed when he wants to see their emperor. I am afraid that the news of our envoy's arrival will not be sent to Shangjing until now. When we find Yelu Yanxi, we will have to wait until one or two months later."
Sun Tu couldn't help but feel a little dazed after hearing this. Is there such an unreliable emperor in this world? He actually hunted everywhere, making it difficult for his officials to find his whereabouts. No wonder the Liao Dynasty, which was so powerful, was quickly destroyed by the Jurchen Jin Kingdom in a short period of time. This was all caused by their own deeds.
At the same time, he thought of the Taojun Emperor in the Song Dynasty. In fact, Zhao Ji's situation was not much better than that of Yelu Yanxi. He had been staying in Bianjing City, but he did not pay much attention to government affairs. Instead, he spent a lot of thought on many other artistic things.
It can be said that the two monarchs of the south and the north, one civil and one military, have indeed come to oppose each other, and they have indeed created the most favorable external conditions for the rise of the Jin people.
After thinking about it for a while, Sun Tu asked again: "In that case, what should we do here next? Should we just wait for them to make arrangements?" In fact, he has not yet completely completed it until now. Understand the purpose of Tong Guan coming to Liao Kingdom.
Although part of it was to provide cover for the alliance with the Jin people, after all, who would have thought that Tong Guan would be bold enough to reach an alliance with the Jin people to attack the Liao country on the way to the Liao Kingdom? But now that this main purpose has been achieved, what is the purpose of going to the Liao Kingdom again and going deep into Nanjing of the Liao Kingdom
"Actually, I still have two important things to deal with here. Seeing their emperor is the second most important thing." Tong Guan's face became serious at this time. He turned his head and looked outside the house, and found that there were two of his personal guards. After guarding, no outsiders approached, and then he lowered his voice and said: "One is to try to contact the Han officials of the Liao Kingdom, hoping to reach some agreements with them to prepare for the future attack on Liao. Once the two countries When the war begins, as long as these people do something in the rear, we can win in one fell swoop."
Sun Tu couldn't help but frowned slightly after hearing this, could this really be done
The Han people from the Liao Kingdom who came all the way had no thought of their homeland. Would these Han officials who were already officials risk beheading their heads and confiscating their homes to help the Song Kingdom
Tong Guan did not explain much about this matter, but said: "Of course, this matter has nothing to do with you, I will handle it myself. But the second matter has to be handled by you in secret."
"I wonder what Commander Tong's orders are?" Sun Tu asked quickly with a shiver in his heart.
"It's very simple, that is, go to the city to find the spies installed by the Song Dynasty in Youzhou City, and get from them the Liao people's military deployment map on the border between the two countries!" Tong Guan's answer made Sun Tu excited. His face became more and more solemn!