Li Xin, the envoy of the Northern Han Dynasty, was escorted back to his country, and the news of the peace talks spread quickly in Jinyang.
Liu Jun asked for advice from the Privy Council member Li Xin, who said that the King of Zhou was quite sincere and that it was worth a try. According to Li Xin, the two countries had always hated each other and had no contact with each other. If Zhao Kuangyin could be used as a condition for peace talks this time, it might not avoid war, but it could be a step to ease relations.
The ruler of Northern Han asked the prime minister again, and the prime minister said that Zhao Kuangyin was of no use to the Northern Han Kingdom. This remark won the heart of Liu Jun, and Liu Jun did not dare to use Zhao Kuangyin.
When Zhao Kuangyin and his brothers heard the news, they gathered together and sighed.
Shi Shouxin couldn't help but complain: What's the difference between us and stray dogs
Li Jixun said: "Now we are about to be betrayed, but we have no way to escape. I am afraid that the Northern Han leader will not let us go. Guo the blacksmith is determined to kill us all, and he has used such means.
"Blacksmith Guo is a complete villain," Shi Shouxin cursed. "He has always been the one who did Brother Zhao wrong. First, he killed Brother Zhao's father and brothers, then he launched a mutiny against us, and he killed all our people in the imperial guards. Not long ago, he sent assassins to murder us. When have we ever done anything to let him down? In the end, we haven't taken revenge yet, but Blacksmith Guo is unyielding, as if we owe him something."
Li Jixun sighed, human nature is treacherous and unpredictable. The more he knows he is in the wrong, the more he will not let go.
Zhao Kuangyin frowned and said: Because Guo the blacksmith knew that we hated him and guessed that we would retaliate against him, he naturally regarded him as a serious threat and wanted to eliminate him first, not giving us a chance to retaliate.
Li Jixun looked at Zhao Kuangyin for a while and said: Brother Zhao should have a solution.
If death was certain, Zhao Kuangyin should have been depressed by now, but he only looked worried and remained calm.
Zhao Kuangyin said: I don't think we are at our wits' end yet. The Lord of Northern Han will figure it out. He won't get any benefit from selling me to the Great Zhou. It's just a tiger trying to get its skin. What we need now is someone to speak for us.
Li Jixun pondered and said: I heard that Yang Ye changed his surname to the Northern Han nationality. On the surface, Liu Jiye is generally regarded as an upright person. I have had two casual acquaintances with him and I can talk to him.
Zhao Kuangyin shook his head and said: "We can't find anyone but Yang Ye. He is definitely unwilling to speak for us. His brother repeatedly defected between the Great Zhou and the Northern Han. Now he is in the Great Zhou. I feel that the Yang family is leaving a way out. Our current identity is actually a wanted criminal of the Great Zhou and an enemy of the new king of the Great Zhou, Guo the blacksmith. If Yang Ye speaks for us, he will probably offend both sides. He will not do such a thing."
After hearing this, everyone was at a loss as to what to do.
Zhao Kuangyin said: I think Feng Jinke, who is in the same Guard Department as Yang Ye, should be willing to speak for us.
Li Jixun asked: Brother Zhao, do you know that Feng Jinke
Zhao Kuangyin shook his head and said: I don’t know him, I just know there is such a person.
When everyone heard this, they turned to look at Zhao Kuangyin's dark face curiously, wondering why he was looking for this stranger.
Zhao Kuangyin said: I am just speculating on the personnel layout of the Northern Han Dynasty's Guards. The Northern Han Dynasty's civil and military systems were inherited from the Later Han Dynasty; and the Great Zhou Taizu was also a military general of the Later Han Dynasty, and the Great Zhou court also had something in common with the Northern Han Dynasty. The difference between the Northern Han Dynasty's military office is that there is no Palace Front Office, so the military power of the Guards is particularly important.
In the Imperial Guard Division, which has the most military power, it is impossible for the high-ranking generals to speak with one voice, otherwise the Lord of Northern Han would not be at ease. Therefore, I guess that Yang Ye and Feng Jinke are not the same kind of people.
There were many great generals and military commanders in the Northern Han Dynasty, but the Northern Han lord specifically gave Yang Ye the surname Liu. I think that in addition to trying to win him over and appease him, the Northern Han lord was somewhat wary of this man. Then Feng Jinke, who was in the same position as Yang Ye, was more likely to be a check and balance planted by the Northern Han lord.
After listening for a while, Li Jixun felt that the relationship was complicated and he was even more in awe of Zhao Kuangyin. Li Jixun was older than Zhao Kuangyin, and now he was even more afraid to act as the eldest brother, because Zhao Kuangyin's mentality was not that of an ordinary military general. Li Jixun felt that it was wise to take a step back and respectfully call Zhao Kuangyin "brother".
Zhao Kuangyin said: I will find an opportunity to visit and talk to Feng Jinke and then I will know.
Two days later, Zhao Kuangyin visited Feng's house and was received immediately.
Although Zhao Kuangyin held a low position in the Northern Han Kingdom and had no power now, he once had a high status and was famous. His fame made him highly regarded, and even the generals of the Imperial Guards were willing to receive him.
When we arrived at the living room, we were served tea and exchanged pleasantries.
Zhao Kuangyin then said directly: I have heard that Your Majesty wants to take me to the State of Zhou to negotiate peace.
I have indeed heard the rumor. Feng Jinke nodded.
Zhao Kuangyin saw that Feng Jinke did not look annoyed. Zhao Kuangyin felt that it would be better to just state his intentions directly. If you flatter and say useless things to someone you don't have a relationship with, they will not know where you are coming from and will be wary.
If you directly tell someone you need a favor, the other person will understand your approach. You still won't be friends, but he or she will be more honest with you.
After thinking about it, Zhao Kuangyin said: I have an unwelcome request. I would like to ask General Feng to give some honest advice to Your Majesty.
Feng Jinke calmly asked: "Why did General Zhao come to see me alone?"
Zhao Kuangyin said: I heard that General Feng is your majesty's most loyal general. Only a loyal minister would dare to say this.
I am dedicated to serving the country. Feng Jinke accepted the flattery calmly and asked, "But I have no friendship with you, why should I speak for General Zhao?"
Zhao Kuangyin said: General Feng is not only speaking for me, but also thinking about the country.
Feng Jinke was very interested and said simply: I would like to hear the details.
Zhao Kuangyin said: "The war between countries is a big deal, how can it be changed because of such a small matter? If Zhou is determined to use troops, even if I am sent there, it will not change their decision. General Feng should know that this matter will not benefit the Northern Han Kingdom at all, but only harm it, which is to show weakness before the battle."
Secondly, the Liao Kingdom had not yet made peace with the Zhou Kingdom. my country made peace with the enemy first. Where would this put the Liao Kingdom
Feng Jinke pondered for a moment and said: "I agree with what General Zhao said about the former, which is of no benefit. But there is no need to worry about the latter. The Liao Kingdom has disliked us more than once or twice; they support us from behind, not because of a good relationship, but because they are using each other."
Zhao Kuangyin clasped his fists and said: General Feng's wise opinion. There is another most important interest that the court cannot ignore.
Zhou is strong, Han is weak, Zhou is big, Han is small, although it is unpleasant to hear, but it is obvious. If Your Majesty shows weakness and goodwill today, what should the subjects do? Although our country and Zhou are enemies and have been at war for many years, the officials and people of both countries are Han people. Once the relationship is relaxed, it will be disadvantageous that some people in a weak country will become generals and officials, but for promotion, wealth and glory, they can serve our country now, why can't they serve Zhou in the future
Once peace is negotiated and relations are eased, if spies take advantage of the situation and incite and persuade the military and civilians, there may be a risk of them turning against the enemy.
After hearing this, Feng Jinke remained silent for a long time.
Zhao Kuangyin took a careful look and said no more.
After a long while, Feng Jinke said: "I am a military officer, it is not convenient for me to make comments on state affairs. However, the Minister of Works Guo Yuanwei is on good terms with me, so I will talk to him about this matter. If he thinks it is reasonable, he can write a letter to Your Majesty and it will surely work."
After hearing this, Zhao Kuangyin stood up and said, "I will never forget your kindness. General Feng is busy with military affairs, so I will not bother you any more."
Sure enough, not long after, the Lord of Northern Han explicitly refused to hand over Zhao Kuangyin. He also gave a high-sounding reason, saying that the generals of the Great Zhou were treated unfairly, and if they came to Northern Han, the court would sincerely entertain them at any time.
The person who gave the idea to the Zhou court was Wei Renpu. When Dongjing got the news, it failed in the negotiation again; but the court once again used the old method of playing rogue and resorting to violence if it could not win the negotiation.
Wei Renpu advised the emperor to start a war against Northern Han immediately while the peace talks failed.
Wei Renpu said: "We are not fully prepared to destroy the Northern Han at this moment, and the time is not yet ripe. But we can first harass the Northern Han and attack and nibble away at its borders. The noise of this battle cannot be too small, and our main purpose is not to harass, but to try to attract the Liao army to come to our aid."
He looked back at his ministers, seemingly having forgotten the unhappiness of being rejected by the Northern Han Kingdom, and spoke eloquently, saying that the entire Northern Han Kingdom had only tens of thousands of troops, and the elite troops were no more than 20,000 or 30,000. As long as our dynasty sent a small army out of Liaozhou to bluff and pretend to attack Jinyang in a large scale, the Northern Han would definitely ask the Liao army for help.
The Liao army came from afar, and once they arrived in Jinyang, the Great Zhou army withdrew from the Northern Han Kingdom. They retreated southwards and waited and watched, exhausting the Liao army and the Northern Han national strength, and preparing for the future capture of Jinyang.
Guo Shao thought it made sense. He was not sure of taking Jinyang in one battle anyway. A war of harassment with the Northern Han Dynasty would have more advantages than disadvantages. Because the national strength of the Great Zhou Dynasty far exceeded that of the Northern Han Dynasty, it was least afraid of consumption with the Northern Han Dynasty. It was to use its own strengths to attack the enemy's weaknesses.
Guo Shao immediately asked: Which troops do you think are appropriate to mobilize
Wei Renpu has been very active in making plans recently, and now he bowed again and said: We need an elite force to maintain an advantage in field battles. Zhang Guanghan's Longjie Army stationed in Xiangzhou has 20,000 elite soldiers; in addition, Murong Yanzhao, the new governor of Zhaoyi Army, has tens of thousands of Huainan Gande troops, and some troops can be mobilized for support.
Guo Shao was thinking about who to authorize to lead the battle. At first glance, Zhang Guanghan, the commander of the Imperial Guard Division, or Murong Yanzhao, the governor of Zhaoyi Army, could be competent. But Guo Shao suddenly thought of another person: Fu Zhaoxu.
The recent situation in Hebei, no major battle. After Fu Zhaoxu went to Hebei to deploy troops, the Liao army should not be willing to fight a decisive battle with the Great Zhou army at this time, and would retreat sooner or later; Guo Shao was waiting for his report.
However, the achievements in Hebei were still not enough to enhance Fu Zhaoxu's military merits.